The last
by GWZark
Summary: What if young Po was never meant to be the dragon warrior...but the next Oogway? Who will be the dragon warrior? How will Po's new found power from his adventures with Oogway affect the lives of the furious five and Shifu? Lots of chi magic, incorporating a bit of wizardry into Kung Fu. Eventual TiPo. ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys ~ my first fanfic ~ Tipo ship in the future. Hope you like it!**

The massacre of the pandas has proven that fate behaves in strange ways, as without this event, a certain panda would not have ended up in a place where e was fated to be. This panda was somehow imported from Gongmen city to the valley of peace and ended up in the backyard of a goose's noodle shop...in a radish basket. Here a revised journey of Po, with a little twist.

 **4 years after the adoption of Po**

It was just another day on the job where 5-year-old Po was sent to fetch some fresh ginger from the local food vendor for his dad's experiment in making his secret ingredient soup. Po had excitedly followed his dad's instructions and made his way to the market district of the valley. He was the only panda in the village, yet despite that he was treated extremely well by the citizens. His bright personality and his caring nature always brought joy to those he spoke to and he helped others whenever he had the chance to. He was greeted by dozens of people, from shopkeepers to little children (although Po was a child himself, he was by no means "little").

It was unfortunate, however, that right after Po had purchased the ginger he required that a group of crocodile bandits came rushing into the market demanding money to every merchant and vendor in sight. He stood helpless as all the shopkeepers and sellers were threatened and forced to giveaway their money. He witnessed a young bunny, even younger than he was, confused and scared be shoved by a bandit to the floor. At that moment, all the fear and terror within Po dissipated into nothingness. All that was left was a mixture of anger and courage, he clenched his fist, and ran to them trying to stop their violence although he knew there was very little he can do. Before he could reach them, however, he was stopped by a wooden cane. Who Po saw in front of him was none other than the father of Kung Fu himself, Master Oogway...but not so little po did not know that yet. All he saw was an old turtle wearing a single piece of robe for clothing. What better could he do against these bandits than he?

Master Oogway turned behind him to see who the brave little boy was, only to realize that he was a panda...no...he was THE panda. The panda who embodied the past and the future of Kung Fu, both sides of the Yin and Yang. Oogway knew for certain that this not so little boy will be the person who brings light to the future. He smiled and said:

"Young panda, thank you for your bravery"

Po, still panicked and nervous about the situation, quickly replied: "Thank you, Mr. turtle but what about the bandits!"

Oogway returned his gaze to the destructive scene and allowed a small smile to show in his expression.

"Well, we shall see," he stated.

Without further notice, Oogway dashed into the scene eliminating each bandit with such grace that Po's eyes widened like saucers out of admiration. Oogway kicked, punched and swung his staff to knock each bandit unfortunate enough to encounter the ends of his assault unconscious, all while dodging and evading their attacks with incredible skill. Just after a few seconds, Oogway had rendered an entire group of bandits consisting of around a dozen crocs unconscious.

Po looked at him in astonishment.

"H-how did you do that?" he asked.

Oogway returned his eyes to him and simply smiled.

"It wasn't the matter of being able to or not being able to do something, it was the matter of whether one is willing to do it," he said with a caring expression " And you, young panda, were willing do it. Whether or not you are able to, you can learn"

"I-I can learn what you just did?!" Po replied enthusiastically "how!? Your punching and kicking was so cool!" Po attempted to imitate his techniques with astoundingly high precision.

Oogway chuckled at the panda's cheerful nature.

"It's not just about punching and kicking, a young panda, it's about harmony and focus. 'It' is called Kung Fu"

Po stood there again wide-eyed out of pure admiration while mumbling to himself "Kung fu…."

Oogway continued "Now if you want to learn, come with me to the jade palace. We have the greatest masters in all of China"

"Okay," Po replied, but before he could take another step, "WAIT, wait I-i can't do that, I need to help my dad and the noodle shop"

Oogway wasn't surprised for he foresaw this reply and said "Then what about a deal. If you truly want to learn Kung Fu then every morning at dawn, I am willing to train you near the outskirts of the village by the riverside. And if you want, you can even come to the jade palace on the weekends to spend time with the masters-"

"Awesome! This is so cool, I can also help defend the valley! And speaking of which, what is your name Mr. turtle?" interrupted Po.

Amused again master Oogway replied "You have a big heart young panda, you should talk to your father first about this. My name is Oogway"

"My name is Po. I will talk to dad about this. Can we start now? How about tomorrow? The dad after that?" pleaded Po for never has he been so inspired before in his short life.

"Patience now young Po, we can start tomorrow. But for now, farewell...and make sure you don't forget your ginger"

"Huh?" Po looked to his hand and found that the ginger was still there. He looked back towards master Oogway only to find him gone. "Whoa did he just vanish into thin air?" He looks around and only saw the citizens of the valley repairing the damage done by the bandits.

Without any further hesitation, po raced back to the noodle shop and told dad all about what happened.

"WHAT you met master Oogway!?" shouted Mr. Ping in surprise. "Take the opportunity son. When you become a famous master, you can promote my noodles!"

"What! Really dad!?" Po asked in cheerful surprise, "I thought you would say no"

"Oh it's quite alright Po, I mean you'll be back by afternoon right? And besides a trip up to the jade palace every weekend wouldn't hurt. We may be noodle folk but that doesn't mean we can't take the chance to do other stuff as well. Now, it's getting late. Off to bed you go"

"Thanks, dad" and with that last remark Po gave his dad a hug and settled off to bed excited for his first day of Kung Fu training tomorrow.

 **Hey guys! As said in the intro, this is my first fic. Pls review. Always looking to improve :)**

 **Next chapter probably in a week's time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you TheAlienHeart (Chido) for being my first ever reviewer and follower. I'll try to improve in any way I can and the story will be kicked up a notch later on. Thanks for your review! My story is kinda romance based if you don't mind.**

 **It's early due to inspiration here's Chapter 2 guys :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

The next day Po woke up an hour before dawn, his eagerness to learn kung fu overpowering his will to sleep. He made his way to the edge of the village where streams of breathtakingly clear turquoise water flowed gently with the soft breeze. He could see the crack of dawn and the orange rays of light which now refracts itself against the water's surface. The old turtle was waiting for him, whilst meditating on the same curved wooden cane he used to annihilate the bandits yesterday.

"Good morning young Po," he stated as he slowly and gracefully moved out of his meditating position. It wasn't until Po saw his face did he realized that Master Oogway was meditating upside down the entire time.

"Whoaa...that's so...that's so cool! How did you do that?" Po asked as he squealed in delight. "Does meditating somehow help with fighting?"

"Yes, to do kung fu you must find focus and harmony, and to find focus and harmony, you must meditate," Oogway explained.

" Ooooh….Why upside down though? Does meditating upside down make it twice as effective?" young Po asked eagerly.

"No. But it looks cool" Oogway answered with a smile. Young Po laughed and expressed a smile of his own but before he said anything, Oogway kept going, "Come, Po," Oogway gestured beside him for him to sit and meditate. Po followed without question.

"You must control your breathing so that you take in good energy and give out the bad" Master Oogway stated as he inhaled and exhaled deeply. Po watched for a moment and quickly followed suit.

Oogway continued " Good, Now you must feel what is around you and what is inside of you. Be self-aware whilst being aware of your surroundings. You may let your thought roam but let it flow, allow it to pass without a need to follow it."

~0~o~o~0~

They meditated for 3 hours in the morning and Oogway was surprised that the little panda has enough patience to meditate peacefully without asking questions. Oogway turned his head to see the young panda and was surprised again at how deep into his meditation he is. He was a prodigy, to say the least. He was in deep meditation with a small smile plastered to his face, so deep in fact that it was as if he had done this for years and Oogway remembered it took him an entire year to get to this stage of harmony and focus, yet this panda did it in a single morning.

"Are we done, master?" Po asked as he opened his eyes.

 _How very aware he has gotten in such a short time._ Oogway thought "Yes that shall be today's lesson.

 _The week flew by as Po learned the basics of kung fu and mastered most of them by seeing them once. Until the fated weekend came by._

~0~o~o~0~

Tigress had adjusted her lifestyle after she was adopted from Bai Gu orphanage just two months ago as the newest and currently the only Kung Fu disciple in the Jade Palace. Although she was extremely grateful to her Kung Fu master and now father, Master Shifu, she couldn't help but feel lonely in the vast emptiness of the Jade Palace. She thought that there would be more disciples and she would be able to make friends...something she wasn't able to do in Bai Gu orphanage. Moreover the harsh expectations Master Shifu placed on her had hardened her resolve; she will never be the next Tai Lung. Her brother was a disgrace to Kung Fu and everything it stands for, yet Master Shifu only blamed it on himself and what tigress only saw as his righteous heart. The heart that broke when he was betrayed, when he thinks that he was actually the betrayer, the one who fed lies to his son, yet a heart still kind enough to take her in and help her when she was retained in that cold, dark cell. She sighed as her thoughts wander while she sweeps the palace of fallen autumn leaves before her morning training.

She had noticed that the days prior she had encountered Master Oogway making his way out of the palace before dawn every morning where she would always smile and gave a bow to the legendary Kung Fu master. She respected him greatly for his incredible deeds and for the fact that he was now her grandfather, the only person who showed affection and talked to her outside of training. He would go before dawn and come back before noon then spend time with her after her training in the evening. Today was a Saturday, not that it mattered to her as training has always blended the days together. Yet, she wondered what it would be like down in the valley of peace. Was it filled with famous restaurants and food stalls has she heard? What would it be like if she went there in the evening? Would people still work in that hour? ...Would they accept her? For who she is instead of just a scary tiger?

She sighed again as she resumed brushing the palace floor until she heard the familiar rhythmic tap of the wooden cane Master Oogway makes when he walks. He came back earlier than usual today, and she excitedly runs to greet him.

"Good morning Master Oogway," She said with a bow. Then raised her face with a smile.

Oogway smiled in response. "Good morning Tigress" He looked at her lovingly as any grandfather would but he did not continue his path towards the palace but instead he waited. After a while Tigress was wondering what he was waiting for until he looked back and she heard audible gasps and wheezing.

"Urgh. Oops. Ow. I know this place is super cool and Kung Fu-ey and all but why are there so many stairs" The strange voice wheezed as it gradually became louder and louder. After another while of waiting she saw a chubby black and white creature flop itself on the floor at the end of the steps. She realized that it was a Panda. A panda, a race she thought was extinct after the massacre of Gongmen City.

After another moment of wheezing and catching his breath, the panda stood up and gave a small bow. "Hey. I'm Po"

"Tigress" she replied.

"Po is going to start coming here every weekend to train with you," said Oogway as he walked off. "Bring him to Shifu"

~0~o~o~0~

"Master, this is preposterous" exclaimed Shifu " We can't just bring in some random panda and start teaching him Kungfu. How would that be fair on all the Kungfu prodigies in China who dreams of training here?!"

"Shifu, you are still reluctant in taking in more students after Tai Lung" stated the old turtle as he talked back to the sacred peach tree of heavenly wisdom. "You must learn to accept the past as the past as it is. Only then, can you move forward-"

"But master, he is not Tai Lung!" interrupted Shifu " it's just a panda"

"Shifu, he may be just a panda but perhaps he can be more, if you are willing to nurture him, guide him and let him grow to who he was meant to be"

Shifu wanted to retort, to say something to his master and tell him that he doesn't need any more disciples. But he couldn't. It would show his weakness, not after what he's been through. "...yes master" he reluctantly replied.

~0~o~o~0~

"So...what are you doing here," Tigress asked with curiosity as she was showing him around. "You don't look like you came here to learn Kungfu"

"No, actually, that's exactly what I came here for. Master Oogway said that I can train here on weekends," Po answered with a smile while taking in the entire jade palace as a whole. The place is amazing. He only dreamt of being able to come up here one day. Not like that was ever gonna happen for some noodle boy who worked at a restaurant. But here he was, and it was breathtakingly awesome.

Tigress evaluated Po the panda from top to bottom. "No offense but you don't look like a Kungfu prodigy," She said. He was just a chubby panda, she thought as she glared down at him, being about a head taller, he was just a chubby...cuddly panda….kinda cute in fact.

"Oh don't worry, I get that a lot. I just started! The other day master Oogway saved the town from a bunch of crocodile bandits and I was just like: 'AAAWESOME'" he said as he demonstrated the experience with a series of punches and kicks.

Tigress smiled at his cheerfulness, something she never saw in Bai Gu orphanage. He had a personality that could make anyone feel better...perhaps even master Shifu. Right as she thought that, master Shifu came around the corner of the jade palace, towards them and glared at the panda.

"G-Good morning Master Shifu" Po instantly greeted.

Shifu stared onwards for a lingering moment as if to contemplate whether he should take him in or not, but after a while longer, he sighed and flatly said " Come, let's get to work"

Tigress gave a breath of relief and Po smiled as they gave a quick glance to each other.

~0~o~o~0~

Their training sessions went surprisingly smoothly, and Shifu could not say that he wasn't impressed. Oogway said that he has only started Kung Fu for a week yet he mastered the basics and is on par with Tigress in terms of technique. Shifu had noticed that the little feral tiger smiled a lot more in the training session, and instantly Shifu felt a pang of guilt. He knew it was his fault that she was unhappy but he could not help but see another Tai Lung in her. Perhaps, Po was what she needed to help her. Perhaps Po was what he needed to help himself.

"Po!" Tigress shouted and ripped Shifu back into attention, only to notice that the panda was on the floor rubbing his cheek. He was apparently hurt after the light sparring session with Tigress. "I'm sorry I didn't mean it - I - I'm sorry"

Shifu looked on the situation with curiosity to see how the panda would react, trying to see whether he would react like a regular 5-year-old kid would. Like Tai Lung would: Get angry.

"Wa-Hooow. Wow. You have a great punch! Show me how you did that move, that was so cool!" Po said excitedly as he got back up.

A sigh of relief along with a tint of surprise filled Shifu as the panda started talking excitedly and Tigress started giggling at his over energetic nature again. " Sorry, Po. I got a little over excited" Tigress confessed looking a bit guilty and disappointed for not being able to control her strength again.

"No no it's okay, it's my fault for getting a little….distracted" Po said with a weird expression. Tigress giggled again and Shifu scolded them to resume training.

Po stayed the night in the Jade Palace taking the room in front of tigress' and the day after went smoothly as well until it was time for Po to go home late in the evening. Tigress was rather sad that he had to go.

"Bye, Po." She said with her ears down and droopy eyes.

"I'll be back next week," Po said cheerfully.

Tigress' ears perked up from that "Really?... Then I'll see you next week"

"Bye," Po said, also now with a hint of sadness in his face before he started going back down the steps.

"Bye," Tigress said quietly as the sound of his steps grew quieter and quieter.

* * *

 **As you can see this is heading towards a romance story with Tigress. I'll incorporate other characters in as well but it's mainly those two.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for the positive reviews! If you guys would be able to take a moment of your time just to leave a message/review to tell me what you think, it would be greatly appreciated. Without further ado, Chapter 3.**

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 _Two Months later_

Tigress' routine was as relentless as ever. She would wake up in the morning, sweep the palace, train, have lunch, train, have dinner, and then train again before meditating and going back to sleep. She was content with just pleasing her father and not letting him down like Tai Lung did. She was hard on herself with her mistakes, always aiming to achieve the highest form, the perfect techniques in every single move she makes; she would do them over and over until she felt it was satisfactory. Master Shifu was never satisfied. She was never enough. Not after Tai Lung. She felt lonely and pained that it was somewhat like being trapped in a cell in Bai Gu orphanage…

until a certain panda started coming over on weekends.

Po was a rolling ball of happiness with his cheerful personality and natural ability to make anyone smile. Anyone other than Master Shifu that is. He was just as gifted in Kung Fu, in fact, he could perform extremely complicated moves after seeing it once. His level of talent was greater than anyone she's seen; practically surpassing her on his second visit. Although that did make her very frustrated with herself, he was her first and only friend. He didn't brag about it. He just wanted to learn more, and she admired that. She got ready for bed after her somewhat Po-and-Shifu-filled meditation, and slept with a happy anticipation to see her friend tomorrow.

The next morning she got up before dawn and got herself ready for the day, although taking more time to groom herself than usual. She was ready to start sweeping the palace again before she noticed that it was somehow already swept. She heard sweeping noises at the back of the palace a ran to see who it was.

It was Po.

"Po, what are you doing?" Tigress asked in surprise.

"ARG-HAah! Tigress! You're up already? Sorry did I wake you? I didn't mean to wake you" Po said while panicking.

"No-no you didn't wake me. What are you doing? Why are you sweeping the palace? Did Master Shifu make you do it?" She wondered if her master would do something as cruel as making her only friend to get up this early and sweep the palace floor.

"No...It's just that I noticed that you were sweeping the palace floor a week ago, and you always seem so busy, so I thought I'd help out. Though I didn't think you would wake up this early" He said.

"That…" Tigress was stunned. After she was locked up and ridiculed all her life she had never felt this way before. She felt like for the first time that she actually mattered, and that someone is looking out for her. "That's so sweet. You didn't have to...Thank you"

"You know Tigress," Po gave his usual heartwarming smile. "You don't have to try so hard, and sorry I didn't notice your stress earlier. For the past few weeks, you seemed kinda...kinda upset"

"Upset? Oh, well it's not every day that some random chubby panda shows up and does better kung fu than you in two weeks when you were two months ahead." She stated with a growing frown on her face and the way she pouted her lips had Po somehow enchanted. "I wasn't upset with you Po, I was upset with me"

Po snapped out of his daze "you were upset with you? Why would that be? I mean you're the coolest kid I know! Everyone in the valley of peace is talking about Master Shifu's new disciple and how awesome she is! You shouldn't be upset with you, You should be proud" Po said with a smile again.

Tigress chuckled, sniffed, and wiped the water that somehow formed in her eyes. "Thanks, Po. No one has ever said that to me before," She said gratefully with a smile now also forming in her face.

"And besides," Po continued. "I have Master Oogway training me. I mean how awesome is that! The legend of legends is teaching me Kung Fu! Even Master Shifu can't beat that"

"So you're saying I have been easy on you," stated master Shifu from behind wielding an expression of annoyance.

"ArgH, M-Master Shifu" Po said in surprise "G-Good Morning Master Shifu. I uhh - I was helping Tigress with sweeping and most definitely not talking about how Master Oogway is better at teaching than you or anything like that." Po clamped his mouth shut, eyes growing wide, realizing his mistake. Tigress chuckled even harder at his surprise.

"50 laps around the jade palace. Now" Shifu commanded.

"Aww- Conditioning? But I thought the steps itself would be sufficient-"

"No buts! Now go"

Po listened reluctantly.

~0~o~o~0~

The Saturday and Sunday went in a flash, for Tigress at least. Po was wheezing and gasping for air by the end of it all. "Panda Asthma" he would always say. Shifu said that he needed to head out this Sunday evening and they were free to spend the time as they wish. Po and Tigress sat at the roots of the sacred peach tree of heavenly wisdom, looking down on the magnificent view of the valley of peace as the sun sets, igniting the town with that familiar tint of orange. They were both tired of the extra intensity Shifu gave them this afternoon in compensation for his absence this evening. Po was munching on the peaches with delight.

"These are THE best peaches," He said with his mouth full of them. Tigress found it adorable.

They sat in silence, just enjoying each other's company. Tigress sat with knees cramped up to her chest and she gazed down the valley once more. "I wonder what it's like down there" She almost whispered. However, Po's ears picked up and stopped eating to look at her.

Realizing that Tigress had actually never been down there Po thought of an Idea. "Why don't we go down there today? I can show you my house, the noodle shop! You have to try my dad's newly found secret ingredient soup! It's amazing"

"What! No! I can't go down there"

"Why not?"

"I-I'm a tiger and-"

"So what, I'm a panda"

"That's different. Y-You're likable. I'm just a dangerous scary tiger everyone thinks should be locked up. It's better for everyone if I stay up here." She replied, grief-struck.

"Tigress that's not true," Po said with such authority in his voice, that it made Tigress turn to look at him. His jade eyes stared into hers. "I promise that's not true. People might be wary but they won't be afraid, you have my word for that. I know those people, I grew up with them, I'm trying my utmost best in Kung Fu FOR them. It's the place I'll gladly give my life to protect, I mean, It's called the valley of peace for a reason." He held his arm out towards her for her to hold "Let me show you"

Tigress stared between his arms and his confident expression for a second. Then, with a sigh, she reached out and held his hand. She gasped, however, that she was dragged along instantly the moment the contacted each other.

"You're gonna love it! Oh, I'm so excited! It's gonna be AWESOME!" Po said as they raced down the steps.

By the time they reached the bottom of the steps, dawn had already passed and they were greeted with a wondrous view of the town, illuminated with lanterns. Despite the hour, mostly everyone was still working, which shows their dedication and happiness to their job. As they walked past the stalls and shops one by one, still holding each other's hands - tigress more firmly with nervous anticipation, everyone enthusiastically greeted Po and addressed her kindly. She was surprised, to say the least, that no one showed a trace of fear or even nervousness in her presence. In fact, some of the younger kids gasped in admiration when they saw her and tried to talk to her and greet her as if she was already a master. As if they weren't afraid...

At that moment, she felt all her anxiousness and nerve-wracking fears diminish into thin air. Po was right. Her whole life of being locked up in a cell for being different and the scar in her heart that haunted her until now finally started to heal. Po was right. Po was _right_. She squeezed her hand tighter and allowed a smile to bloom in her face.

"Here we are! Ping and son's noodle shop" Po said excitedly.

Tigress came upon a traditional noodle shop bustling with customers in which there hangs a sign saying "Ping & Son's noodle shop." After reaching the entrance she was surprised to see the atmosphere of the small noodle shop complete filled with energy. In the midst of it was a loud goose shouting "please come again" to leaving customers while taking new orders at the same time.

"That's my dad," Po stated as he watched Tigress's gaze.

"That's your DAD?" Tigress exclaimed, "but he's a goose."

"Yeah, everyone says that at first but...honestly, I don't think it really matters. He's still my dad," Po replied.

"PO!" shouted the goose after he caught sight of his son. He then quickly ran towards him and gave him a lasting hug.

"Right, well the shop isn't going to work itself! Let's get these to table one, three, five and eight. Serve with a smile!" The goose said as he passed some dishes to Po.

"Wh-But Daaad, I'm supposed to show Tigress around town today" Po rebelled as he hinted at Tigress.

"Oh! You've brought a guest! Why didn't you tell me, I'm Ping" Mr. Ping said as he took her hands and shook it. "She's lovely, you've found yourself a good one Po! But since she's here she might as well help with service too"

"Daaaad" Po exclaimed again.

"It's okay Po," Tigress said with a giggle. "I'll be glad to help."

They spent the first parts of the evening serving customers, and to everyone's surprise, a new tigress has joined the staff. Tigress was also surprised to hear whispers from three kids younger than herself from the corner table saying "Look! It's Tigress the Kung Fu prodigy!" and "Awesome!" and "Whoa, she's so cool, look at how many plates she's holding!" - Albeit Po able to hold even more plates - Tigress smiled and walked up to them, and their eyes grew as she came closer.

She bent a knee to get down to there level, and said "Hey, I'm Tigress"

One of the kids fainted, one squealed and one took her hand saying "Master Tigress, I'm your biggest fan" then the other kids interrupted "No I am!" "No! I am"

Tigress smiled at the kids and again, at that moment she felt something completely being lifted off her shoulders. As if something she was carrying her entire life was gone and that she could finally breathe. She saw the joy in the children's faces as they tried to talk with her and she couldn't help but feel relieved. Po was right, Po was right!

"Well, we can play next time, I have to get back to work." she said as she chuckled at the collective "aaaawwww's" from the three kids. She glanced back to see Po clearly enjoying his time serving the customers as his smile

They worked for another two hours before the shop was closed. It was tiring for both of them, mentally and physically considering the number of customers they served within the two hours. They sat in the table nearest to the kitchen while eating their own bowls of noodle soups.

"Wow, dad your new secret ingredient soup is AWESOME!" Po said as he finished his second bowl. "Can I have seconds?"

"That was the seconds Po" Mr. Ping deadpanned as he refilled the panda's bowl anyway.

Tigress snickered at the hilarious interaction between the father and son. They were so physically different but she could tell that they were meant to be together. They fitted... as she fitted in this town today like Po had shown her she could fit, just like everybody else, that she could just be there without everyone being so afraid. She smiled and observed at Po as she finished a second bowl of her own. At this point, Po was just about finished with his third. While one would find the way Po slurped his noodles hilarious and scold-worthy, she found it...adorable? Cute? Absolutely lovely? ...she wasn't sure.

"Sorry for not being able to show you around town today, but you can come down again next time...right?" Po said, snapping Tigress out of her thoughts. Then, she smiled. She thought that she smiled more today than she did in her entire life and that her heart was lighter than it has ever been.

"Yes, Po. If you'll bring me again" Tigress said as she stared down and her bowl, afraid he might reject.

"Really! Awesome! You got it" Po said after he finished his noodles. "Let's go back, don't want Master Shifu to make us run laps for disappearing."

"Oh no, Po you don't have to bring me, I can take care of myself," Tigress said though she was happy at his concern.

"Oh no no, I know that you can take care of yourself, but uhh...I uh...I forgot something" He stated nervously trying to think of a way so that he could bring her back.

"Oh, okay then, let's go back"

000

After arriving back at the Jade Palace, the kung fu duo found themselves under the sacred peach tree of heavenly wisdom again, when they noticed that Master Shifu hasn't returned.

The view of the valley of peace growing in the orange light of the sunset before was beautiful but seeing the valley of peace in the night was something else. The valley glowed once more in tiny dots of light from the abundance of lanterns, and it somehow gave this cool, mysterious feeling while being absolutely, astoundingly beautiful in its own way.

"Thanks for today, Po" Tigress said as she sat, with legs to the side, closer to Po than when they sat together before. It was almost as if she was _leaning_ on him, with her head lightly resting on his shoulders. It made Po feel flushed and smiled at her.

"Anything for you, Tigress" Po stated. Then paused before realizing what he said. "Uhm! I meant!" He paused to see a pair of golden eyes looking at him from his shoulder with a shocked expression, his heart almost stopped. "I meant as a friend, I would do anything for you"

Po could have sworn he saw a brief look of disappointment before Tigress resoluted herself again with a smile. "Thanks, Po" she said enthusiastically.

Po felt a pang of guilt, and he did not know why. He felt that his heart was saying it was wrong, that's not what you really think. He was only five years of age, he didn't know what this feeling was. It hurts, yet he couldn't say any more.

* * *

 **That's Chapter 3 guys, hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter, there will be a time skip. Look forward to it :)**

 **I've been steadily raising my word count but this is as much as I can do with school going on, hope it isn't too short. I'll try to improve on it later.**

 **Well, until later then!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well here's chapter 4 and I'm sorry to inform you that I probably will not be posting the next chapter until Wednesday next week as I am busy cramming for a school assignment.**

 **Thanks again Chido(TheAlienHeart) for letting me know your thoughts. Keep em' coming, I'm only trying to improve.**

 **Thank you, AC139 for your positive reviews! (makes me happy to read them)**

 **Without further ado, chapter 4**

* * *

 _5 years later._

The gong of the giant bells alerted Tigress from her training. He ears twitched and fists curled in anticipation.

"Bandits!" Said a goose messenger, "Attacking the musician's village."

Without another word, tigress bursts out of the training hall then race down the steps. Shifu who was disturbed by the 10-year-old during his inner peace meditation muttered something rude under his breath, then tried to find his inner peace again.

Tigress reached the musician's village in 15 minutes only to see a black and white blur already on the job. A panda stood in the middle of the ruckus, spinning, punching, kicking all bandits in sight while protecting the citizens. He fought as furiously as a tiger yet with such grace that every movement he made flowed into the other like water. The villager far enough from danger cheered and praised the panda, and even louder when she landed behind him, covering his back.

"Glad to see you make it Po," She said with a smile.

"Glad to see you too, Ti" Po replied sparing a moment to glance warmingly at her before resuming his assault.

The young duo dispatched the two dozen wolf bandits in a matter of minutes before the city guards showed up and took them all to the city's jail. The villagers of the musician's village cheered to an astoundingly loud volume, praising them and hugging them as the duo walked by. The kids especially loved Po due to his cuddliness and softness. They were hugging him so affectionately that Tigress started getting angry and made her way faster back to the Jade Palace, whilst dragging Po with her.

000

Once they got back and out of the visual and audible range of local townsmen and citizens, Tigress quickly turned and started, with an unsuppressed urge and need, checking Po for injuries.

"Hey, Ti, TI, It's okay, I'm fine," Po said as she kept scanning him with her hands, those soft furry hands that he knew were deceiving as under those fluffy paws were bones made of steel gained from punching ironwood trees. He attempted punching them as well but, it wasn't really his...style. "I swear ever since last time you've been so...cautious. It was barely a scratch!"

Tigress's paws kept prodding until those lovely hands of hers slowly yet urgently reached his cheek where a small but visible scar lays caused by just the tip of a sword in which he encountered in the previous call for mission. Her fingertips caressed it as it was a reminder of her mistake in letting her guard down thinking it was all over before she was jumped by an enemy pretending to be unconscious. Po had already noticed it and saved her easily but not without a price."I worry about you Po"

"I worry about you too but we're kung fu warriors! danger is a part of our lives Ti" Po said as he reached with his palm and placed it on top of hers, then gently took it off his cheek and held it.

"I know," she replied with a sigh.

Po looked at her again with his usual endearing smile. It was contagious as she started smiling too. "C'mon, let's get lunch," He said.

~0~o~o~0~

Shifu was doing his daily meditation in the mornings now while he left tigress to train with the wooden dummies whilst also practicing the fundamentals - in which she could now do independently. It was just a typical morning for the father and daughter- no. He could not call their relationship that for he had been a terrible guardian, something he knew he could've at least tried to fix. Yet his heart was never the same after his former son. Thus, it was a typical morning for the master and student, before the gong of the emergency bell rang and the tigress leaping out of the training hall to do her duty as a Kung Fu warrior. He used to be worried about Tigress and the panda taking on actual threats, but now it was just a nuisance that there were threats at all. The duo was the best he's seen in his lifetime. Better than Master rhino, croc and ox, better than...better than Tai Lung...and he was scared that it was so. He snapped out of his daydream after the familiar tap of a wooden cane which belonged to his master.

"Greetings, Master Oogway," Shifu said whilst giving a bow.

"Ahh, Shifu. You have still yet to believe in the goodness of your students...and you still doubt yourself even though it wasn't your fault," Oogway replied but was ashamed to still see the involuntary stiffening in Shifu's posture even at the small hint of his son. Oogway gave a sigh. "I've come to tell you that the time has come…"

Shifu waited for a continuation but after a while, he asked "Time for what, master?"

"It is time for me to take my final journey with my true successor and the next great sage...Po," Oogway explained.

Shifu gasped. "Th-The-The next great sage!" The next great sage was the one who carried all the secrets and knowledge of Kung Fu, in which Master Oogway was the first of. The title rivaled that of the dragon warrior and one could say that the power of a great sage far exceeds it, as the great sage himself is the one who chooses the dragon warrior.

Whilst the dragon warrior was a person who represents the heavens and fights evil in order to achieve justice, the great sage was the one who lights the path to victory whilst being the pillar in which everyone where to place their hopes on when everything goes wrong…like Tailung. There is a myth that if the dragon warrior was ever to lose in battle or, worse, turn against the people, the great sage will stop his or her path and put the dragon warrior back into the correct one...or if worse comes about, the great sage will have to execute him or her.

Thus, the great sage must be a figure close to a god in the Kung Fu world, a person who could shoulder the hopes and reliance of everyone, no matter how difficult the time. The person would have to achieve the pinnacle of both physical and mental strength. Only Oogway has succeeded in achieving such a title, and there is never going to be another Oogway for no other species could live that long or hold as much talent as Oogway did...or was there? Po. It was Po. While Po may not be able to live as long as Oogway, his talent far exceeds him.

Shifu stuttered, "I - I don't understand. How can this be?"

"My time is near, Shifu. In seven years, the heavens will call for me and that would be my time to leave this world" Oogway stated.

Shifu was stunned. Oogway was dying. His _master_ was dying and he didn't even notice. He blamed himself for being a failure of a father but as a student? No. He followed Oogway for his entire life. How could he not notice?

"There was no way to tell," Oogway said as if reading Shifu's mind.

"But the heavens have called and I must abruptly leave with Po tomorrow so that we may be on our path to his training" Oogway continued, "So that we both will fulfill our destiny."

~0~o~o~0~

Po and Tigress spent the evening together as usual helping out in Ping and Son's noodle shop. Tigress was glad to help despite the protests from Po, and in return received some money from albeit she wanted to refuse, he wouldn't have her working for free. After work, they would sit together as they did five years ago and she would talk with him about whatever was going on in her mind. Over the past 5 years, although she had made contact with others in the valley of peace, due to her seclusion in the Jade Palace, she wasn't able to call anyone a friend. Only Po. Po was a friend but he was also...more. He was her best friend. He was like family.

After they finished their meals they made a stroll around town to visit some of the vendors and shopkeepers. Po was greeted enthusiastically as usual, but today they made their way to a new accessory vendor that opened recently. As they approached the new building, which was surprisingly still open this late in the evening, they gasped at the exquisite trinkets and accessories being sold. The items ranged from necklaces to armbands to earrings. They explored the shop together for a while and Po asked if she wanted anything. She observed all the items again, however she could not see herself wearing any of the golden shiny accessories women tended to like.

"No these wouldn't look good on me, besides I've no need for these shiny accessories that would give away my stealth during missions," Tigress answered.

They looked for a bit more before it was time to leave and both made their way back to the jade palace.

"Sorry for being such a bother to you," Po said as they climbed the steps. "The training, along with the shop. You don't have to help out like this."

"It's alright Po," Tigress said while smiling. "It's been fun...spending time with you"

Po's tiny ears fluttered and he smiles at that. "So uhm, I know you don't like accessories and all, but I made this" Po took out a small pouch and gave it to her. She opened it and let out a surprised gasp. It was a necklace. It was, It was stunning. The laces made out of a braided black string so that it doesn't stand out. The pendant in the middle was a symbol of a small yin yang sign which was made out of what seemed like black and white marble. It was held together by etched dark steel encompassing the outside. It was sturdy, she could tell as there were no useless smaller parts which could potentially fall off. It was _made_ for her.

"Y-You made this Po?"Tigress questioned, "How?"

"Oh, I had help from Bao the blacksmith and Huo the Jeweller, in return I help them out with their shops," Po said. "It took a while. Hope you like it" He gave her one of those smiles as if he was serving her noodles.

"Its-It's amazing, Po. Thank you" She said, then she gave her friend a hug, trying to hide the wide grin breaking out on her face. After cuddling against his fluffiness for a while she released him and look back at the pendant with a grin. She caressed the smooth edges before Po interrupted her.

"Here, let me put it on for you," Po stated as he took the pendant and tied it for her from behind her neck as if he was hugging her. After he finished tying it has distanced himself to look at her. Tigress gave a small blush as his gaze lingered on her and his pupil widened in awe in his eyes. Po must have noticed it as he abruptly clear his throat. "Uhh, we should head back, don't want master Shifu getting mad." Then he took her hand and guided her up the stairs. Tigress giggled at his awkwardness, one of the fingers of her free hand lingered on the pendant exploring every crease. It was beautiful. It represented Po and even though she haven't worn it for long, she felt that it belonged there...and it will stay there for as long as she lives. She squeezed Po's hand affectionately and smiled again. She _loved_ it.

0000

They made their way back up to the Jade Palace, as usual, however, both were surprised to see Master Shifu waiting for them with a solemn expression.

"Sorry, were we too late, master?" Tigress said as she bowed. Po did the same.

"No, but there is important news that must be heard. Come with me, both of you" Shifu replied abruptly. He led them into a room where Master Oogway was waiting for them.

000

After the explanation was given, Po was shocked but he has never seen Tigress so freaked out. She was panicking and shaking somewhat uncontrollably. "Po is LEAVING?!" She exclaimed. "FOR SEVEN YEARS? No this can't happen. No no no no no. You can't do this master Oogway! What about Po's dad? What about the shop he has? What if the valley is attacked and I can't handle it on my own? Wha-...What about me?" With the last statement, Tigress looked up at Oogway and, an equally shocked Shifu, with tear filled eyes. She was crying. Tigree was _crying_ in front of others, and tigress never cries, not unless she was locked up and alone in Bai Gu orphanage.

"Young Tigress, you and Shifu must fulfill your own destiny here in the Jade Palace, along with others who will soon join you," Master Oogway replied.

"No. No, you can't do this master Oogway! You can't take away my only friend" Tigress said as she tried to desperately grab on to Oogway's silk robe.

Oogway smiled sadly at the sight before replying "the universe has chosen, my child, and I must follow it's decisions"

"No…" Tigress gave a sad sob.

Oogway placed his black hard-shelled fingers on her cheek and gently caressed it as he stated. "It must be done, my child" before fixing his gaze back to the also teary-eyed Po. "I have already spoken with your father after you left this evening. He has agreed to come with you"

"NO! You're taking away my friend, and now you're taking away my only father figure too?!" Tigress shouted in grief swatting away Oogway's hand.

~0~o~o~0~

Shifu felt like a dam of guilt had burst inside him. He was taken aback by the bluntness of the ten-year-old. When she was upset - truly upset - she did not hold back in saying what she felt. It stung like it never did before, more than anything, more than Tai Lung. It was his fault and he knew it. But, heavens, he didn't even know that tigress was capable of feeling this way, the Kung Fu warrior who never complained or argued with him was feeling more attached to a noodle shop goose than her own adopted father.

"We leave tomorrow morning at dawn" Oogway commanded. "Now go talk to your father, Po."

Tigress saw the hopelessness in arguing against the situation and burst out of the room as she did when there was an emergency and Po followed her.

"Tigress!" Shifu was about to go after her too but Oogway held his staff in front of him. "Let them be Shifu. This is the last time they can spend with each other in the next seven years"

Tigress raced down the stairs she just came back up from. She sprinted as fast as she could, everything was a blur, she felt as if she was going to be locked up again. Why must they do this? Make Po into this great sage thing. She didn't understand. She doesn't want to understand, they were taking her friend, no they were taking away her family. Why? Why, why, why, WHY?

Tigress cried out loud as she ran towards a nearby forest and did a double palm strike, destroying the nearest tree she found. She kept punching and punching releasing all her fury. Why? Why did they have to take him away?

Was it because of her? Po had grown into an extraordinary martial artist even amongst the most gifted and left her trailing behind by heaps and bounds. It was because of _her._ She thought. She was slowing him down so much to the point where they have to take him away to train as some Great Sage. It was her fault. She cried even louder as her paws bled from breaking about half a dozen trees before someone called her name from behind.

"Tigress?" asked the voice.

She snapped back about the unleash her fury to the unsuspecting voice but stopped as soon as she saw Po. Her hands were rattling in anger, but once she saw the sad look it Po's eyes, it all melted into sorrow. She gave out a choked sob. Po was crying too. This was the moment were they would last see each other in seven years if not, longer. She hugged her friend. Fiercely. It was as if she never wanted to let go. She let her tears flow into his shoulders. Why do they have to take you, Po?

"Tigress" Po said but she continued crying. "Tigress!" He took her shoulder and distanced himself abruptly, whilst looking into her eyes. "This isn't goodbye you know. This is just like a 'catch you later' or 'see you tomorrow' ...but longer! I don't know why this is happening either but I trust in master Oogway and his decisions. He's doing what's best for the world and you know that"

Tigress continued sobbing, batting his arms away and continued to hug him. Hug him goodbye. "It's my fault you're leaving"

"What?"Po replied, "There's no way that's true, you're just being so hard on yourself again."

"It's true Po! I'm holding you back I'm angry at myself for slowing you down, I-"

"Stop," Po interrupted, "I'm not going to let you blame yourself for this when It's not true. Trust me Ti, it's just how it is. If master Oogway said that the universe told him then we both know it's fate"

After a moment longer Tigress stopped hugging Po and looked into his eyes again, lingering a tiny bit longer. Then she did what she saw other couples do when they wanted to say that they..they love each other. She pulled Po's head in for a kiss. It was a short innocent childhood kiss that would stay with them for their entire lives. Tigress stepped away and looked down, oblivious to the wide-eyed and stunned Po. Then, she felt something. Her resolve hardened. Her heart felt like iron. "When you come back. I will be a warrior worthy to stand beside you" and she left before Po could say anything in reply.

* * *

 **I tried to spice up the story a bit...well Tada! Hope you like it! As always, thanks for reading and please leave a review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks for the wait guys. If you like where the story is going, give it a fav. If you don't, i'd love to know your opinions.**

 **By the way, I'll be changing the story name to the Great Sage for obvious reasons: I didn't want to spoil anything before I wrote it.**

 **Welp, here it is. Chapter 5:**

* * *

 _One year after Po's journey to become the great sage._

The winds howled against the vast desert they now tread upon, marching in a rhythm the three animals grew used to over the year of aimless traveling. The scorching desert was a land of fire in the day and a chilling arctic in the night. The surface of the sand looked like a million reptiles, all going in the same direction: whichever direction the wind flowed. Po, now eleven years of age, had grown tougher and less likely to complain about how his feet hurt, or how his bones ached to the core for he has now grown tolerant and numb to the pain. His endurance now was to the level where he could sprint for ten days without losing his breath.

Oogway was amazed to see that the young panda could overcome any obstacles he couldn't triumph in using his incredible talent, by using an equal level of effort. The Panda would be ruthless with his routine to get over his "panda asthma" and improve his endurance. He would spend the morning training with Oogway which consisted of light spars and teaching techniques, then they would travel as far as they can in the afternoon whilst dragging his dad's 50-kilo noodle cart. Of course, his dad couldn't leave his business behind and made money selling noodles as they travelled, restocking everytime he could in nearby towns. Poor Po had to deal with his dad's luggage. In the evenings, Po would train his inner abilities as Oogway told him, focusing on the intricate workings of his immense capacity of chi, in which was taught to him two months ago. Po had caught on quite as quickly as Oogway expected, being a panda, however, he could not foresee the amount of chi the child had; It was as vast and deep as the oceans and concentrated with power. Power he has yet to master but when he does, Oogway would not stand a chance with his amount of Chi compared to Po's. It was a difference between a mountain and an ant.

Tonight was the last night of their travels for tomorrow they would reach the serpent's tomb, a place where Oogway has yet to inform the goose and panda about. It would be a place filled to the brim with deadly traps which could be life ending if not avoided. It would teach Po awareness beyond measure as a single misstep will bring about an end to his life. Something he will find out the hard way as he is going to head in there alone.

The trio set camp for the night in a nearby cave made out of sandstone. They committed to their routines as usual, Mr. Ping making dinner whilst Po and Oogway meditated together. Their chi combined as one, Oogway's chi was a glowing turquoise while Po's was rich gold. Oogway guided Po to what he needed to do and show him how chi is controlled internally. Oogway knew that before long Po is going to be able to exert this massive force externally, and that would be a day to remember.

"Tomorrow we finally reach our first destination," Oogway said to the surprise of Po and his dad.

"And I thought this ceaseless traveling would never end!" Mr. Ping exclaimed with a smile.

"Where are we going?" asked Po.

"To the serpent's tomb, a deadly place in which you, Po, will have to head in there alone" Oogway explained.

"ALONE?" Ping yelped "What do you mean, ALONE? I thought we would travel together!"

"The serpent's tomb is a pyramid-like structure where Po will have to go through by himself," Oogway continued, "Ping and I will go a different way and we will meet in the center."

Po, suddenly nervous about his early responsibility to be independent, was beginning to feel his fur rise in the imagination of this deadly tomb. However, he felt confident that he would be about to go through with it as he had gone through everything else Oogway had taught him. He only anticipated this challenge as one he must pass, to follow Oogway.

The three slept the night, Ping being closer to Po than usual in fear for losing his son, but the long distance they traveled slowly lured them all to sleep.

~0~o~o~0~

Viper who now resided in the Jade Palace for nine months along with the new members of the furious five worried about the physical and mental health for her dear sister, Tigress. Tigress trained ruthlessly, being the first one in the training hall each day and the last one out. She no longer swept the palace in the mornings after the recruitment of new and much-needed palace staff four months ago so that the five could focus on training. Tigress was as closed off as when they had met but not unfriendly. She was kind in her actions but inside, viper knew she has closed herself off. Perhaps she had lost a loved one? A parent, maybe? A friend? She would never tell, always avoiding the question when asked. She only trained, and she trained _hard._ She never seems to take it easy, perfecting her every move, every technique with absolute precision.

Tonight was a cold night, and the five were gathered around the dining table in the kitchen. Tigress was eating her diet of Tofu again while the rest of the five helped themselves to some noodles they had brought from the valley of peace this evening, the Sunday evening they were allowed to have a break on. It tasted okay at best, apparently, there was a famous noodle restaurant everyone was talking about which unfortunately closed off a year ago. Wonder what happened to it? Viper thought as she slurped the soup with a spoon held by her tail. The five, with the exception of Tigress, got along very well. The boys were laughing at the Jokes mainly told by Mantis and Monkey. All was well before tigress stood up from her chair and headed towards her quarters. The atmosphere changed the moment she acted and all the boys stopped talking. After she left, the four seemed to let out a sigh of relief.

"I wonder why she has to be so hardcore all the time," Mantis asked with worry in his expression, "It's not like tomorrow is the end of the world or anything"

"She probably thinks we're a nuisance," Monkey continued.

"Guys, that's not true," Viper said, "We asked Master Shifu about it, and he said it wasn't us remember?"

"Yeah, like he gets love from Tigress himself. Have you seen how she is with him? It's as if she blocked out any emotions regarding Shifu at all and only takes his orders because he's our master and nothing more. I mean. Isn't he technically her dad?" Mantis stated.

"Guys I know that it's tough but we don't know anything about her. Give her time, it's only been six months," Viper responded, "She'll open up when we get to know her"

No one said anything afterward as they all continued eating their dinner in silence.

The following morning, tigress trained as if it was her last day to live. She developed her technique to the point where there were no flaws, no imperfections. _Never again._ She thought. _Never again will I be the one to hold him back. When he comes back I'll show him that I can be his equal._ With that she spin-kicked the wooden warriors breaking it apart with her strength. They were rejoinable so she did not worry too much about destroying them. At this point, she was probably better or at the very least equal to Tai Lung when he was her age. Not that she cared anymore. She stopped chasing his shadow a year ago. A year ago...when her only friend left because of her incompetence to keep up. _Never again._

Crane, who was watching nearby, gawked as he saw the sturdy wooden warrior get destroyed with her kick. He looked as if he was pitying the wooden dummy. At that time the afternoon gong rang and they all made their way to the dining hall for lunch. All members of the furious five with the exception of tigress dreaded this time for it is the last time they could enjoy themselves before the sparring session in the afternoon, in which Tigress always wins. They all knew from the way she strikes the wooden warriors that she was holding herself back when sparring with them. They all wondered how it was fair for an individual to be so talented, growing heaps faster than they did with a furious and undying passion. They were all curious about why she was trying so hard but no one wanted to ask her. Not that she would answer anyway. They ate their lunch peacefully before heading back into the training hall where they all had their butts whooped by Tigress.

0000

She spends her evening meditating as usual before bed but couldn't help but to let her thoughts roam to how her friend is doing. Where was he? Is he safe? She hoped so. The year without him felt like a lifetime. She trained non-stop to be his equal but knew that she still wasn't even close. Tigress sighed in sadness, before hearing a faint knock on her door as if whoever it was, was reluctant to do so. She opened the door and found Viper.

"Hey sis, I know it's kinda late but I wanted to get some tips from you," Viper asked in a nervous expression.

No matter how cold tigress was, she was always there to help. It's what Po would have wanted. They discussed what Viper could improve on in their sparring match today and Viper was happy with the advice. However, after they were done, Tigress noticed that Viper was not ready to leave.

"Is there anything else you need?" tigress questioned.

"I think it's about time sister, that you tell me what's going on in that head of yours" Viper replied firmly. Tigress was surprised in the confidence in her voice.

"There is nothing to tell you about-" Tigress answered.

"There is, sister, I know there is, but you refuse to tell me," Viper interrupted, "I know that you are hurt by something in the past just tell me what it is so that I can help you-"

"We already talked about this Viper, I don't need help, it's just how it is" Tigress replied.

"No it's not how it is Tigress" Viper said as she slithered to the door and opened it revealing the rest of the furious five members stumbling in as they were eavesdropping while leaning on the door, "We need to know so that we can help you, so that we can grow as a team instead of staying in your shadow all the time"

Tigress was shocked. They-they think that they're in her shadow? She never even considered it, she always felt that they were equals. Then she gasped at the realization. Isn't this what it was like with Po? Except now she is the one being ahead of others while others were the ones feeling left behind, and she didn't even consider it. She always thought they were equals trying to master their own technique and kung fu style. She sighed again and was about to refuse before she looked up and saw the pleading eyes of all the furious five members, she was speechless.

After a moment of waiting, she started: "Back in Baigu Orphanage, I had a hard time because I was different, I was a Tiger. That was until master Shifu came for me and brought me to the Jade Palace...only to show me that it was almost exactly the same. I had no friends, I was equally as lonely as I was before, and the worse thing was that he only adopted me because Master Oogway told him so, that destiny told him so. I found out I was just a shadow of his former son and pupil, Tai Lung. Thus, I trained as hard as I could to live up to his expectations, but in truth, I wasn't happy. That was when I met my friend. I didn't feel lonely anymore and he was the only one I could rely upon. He was like family. He always looked out for me. But a year ago he had to leave because of my incompetence. That's why I'm training so hard.

The other members gawked at what she said. "He left because of your INCOMPETENCE?!" they all said.

"Yeah, even if that was remotely true, I don't think your friend would leave because you were bad at Kung Fu," Crane said as he scratched his neck with one of his feet.

"Yeah Tigress, I mean, he would have been a bad friend otherwise. I'm sure there were circumstances as to why he had to leave," Mantis continued.

 _There was._ However Tigress didn't want to spill the confidential information without consulting Master Shifu, so she didn't mention Po's name or anything about him.

"So this is why you were so cold?" Monkey said, "I thought you just didn't like us or something"

Viper hissed at Monkey. "Guys you know that's not true! If she doesn't like us she would not help us out here and there, right?"

Tigress nodded. "I have nothing against you all, I'm sorry for being so secluded. I-I don't know, Po was my only frie-" She bit her tongue at the accidental slip of his name.

"So that's his name? Po?" Mantis said.

Tigress panicked. "Oh no, I'm not supposed to tell you, c-can you keep it a secret?"

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with us. But in return for keeping it can you do something for us as well?" Viper asked.

Tigress gulped in worry and looked down to her knees.

"Let us be your friends too," Viper said.

Tigress gasped and looked up only to be greeted by four smiling faces, then she felt something from inside her open up again. If only half opened. She felt warmth spread through her body, it was happiness. Happiness the occurred at the fact that she now has friends again. They were the furious five members. They were there all along but she didn't pay them any attention. _Now she will._..it's what Po would have wanted. She looked at them at them, giving a smile of her own.

"Thank you…"

~0~o~o~0~

Po was distressed. He didn't know that the traps would be THIS difficult to detect. He was almost at the center now but not without scars. Cuts aligned his feet, back, face…, practically his entire body, after a few close calls. Good thing the traps he managed to get scratched on weren't the ones coated with poison; he'd be in big trouble if they were. The scars ranged from big to small, but he wasn't worried about them as he knew they would fade over time.

Suddenly, he heard the audible click as he stepped on one of the tiles. Arrows shot out at him one by one. As Po was a panda, his body wasn't made for quick evasions so for smaller traps he would parry the incoming danger with his hands. He parried three arrows with his paws and _caught_ the last one coming at him. His heightened awareness sure made it easier. His stomach growled. He spent three days in this tomb and according to the map Oogway gave him, he would reach the center soon. Just a few more traps, or possibly a hundred, but nonetheless Po never lost his determination in surviving the tomb.

"It's been three days Oogway!" Po heard a voice in the distance "What is he's injured! He's definitely hungry! Let's go look for him"

"Patience" another voice cut in "believe in your son"

 _Son?_ Wait he knew those voices. Dad? Master Oogway? He wanted to rush through to them but he knew better, another thing he learned during his time here: caution. He quickened his pace but stepped very carefully, his ultra heightened awareness now second nature to him, sniffing out traps and possible dangers.

000

As he approached and Oogway gasped at the state of him, they both knew from the way he looked the three days must've felt like months. He was bruised all over and was filled with scars. Master Oogway knew it was too early for him to do this as he, himself, only completed this task when he was 40 years old, and he was a turtle which gave him a significant advantage surviving traps due to his hard shell. Po was 11...and a panda. However, the universe was right, he was the one, only he could survive this. wanted to rush over to him but Oogway stopped him with his staff.

"It isn't over yet, he must retrieve his prize at the center," Oogway explained.

Po looked at him understandingly, his exhaustion preventing him from saying anything. He gazed at the center of the room where a coffin lays. He glanced over to Master Oogway and as he nodded, Po opened the coffin. Inside was a staff almost identical to Oogway's but the top curved in a sharper manner almost resembling a question mark. As Po reached towards it, a serpent coming out from nowhere, that even Po's heightened sense of awareness could not react to. The serpent bit Po's arm and disappeared. Po yelled in surprise causing his dad to gasp. However, he realized that there was no pain and where the bite marks were, glowed bright gold with chi, _his_ chi. He looked over to the staff and was surprised to see that it, too, radiated with the same color. He picked up the staff and it immediately felt like an extension of his limbs. It was as if it _belonged_ there as if he was born with it. After a few moments longer of observing the staff, Po felt the world darken and his body went limp.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! I know my chapters are kinda short. Do you guys prefer short and frequent, or long word count but not so frequent? Let me know! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sup guys, as I said before the fanfic's name will be changed into "The Great Sage"**

 **Pls give a fav and follow!**

* * *

A few, or perhaps more, days later Po awakened to the sound of water nearby. He noticed the ceiling being shorter than one in a regular sized room. He could hear his father quietly saying his name.

"Po? Are you alright, son?"

He awoke, fully this time, to see the faces of his father and master looking over him.

"Po! You're alive!" his dad said as he gave a hug.

"Congratulations for making it past the first trial, you've grown," said Oogway.

"Urghh, how long was I out?" Po asked.

"Two weeks," said Oogway casually.

"TWO WEEKS?" Po exclaimed as his stomach rumbled. "No wonder I'm so hungry."

His father jumped up to fetch him food as soon as he heard that. He went over the supplies in the corner of the small cabin and came back with a plate of bean buns in which Po gratefully devoured in a couple of minutes.

"That hit the spot," Po said as he wiped his mouth. It was delicious, well anything would be delicious after two or more weeks of eating nothing. Po thought he would feel weak but he felt no weakness in his body at all. In fact, after further observation, he noticed that all his bruises and scars are healed. It must've been something to do with the chi connection that he felt with his staff. His body was now riddled with scars but only noticeable upon close inspection. The plumpness of his body was still there despite the year of constant training and traveling but that was due to his species being a panda. However under that fat was an immense amount of muscle, incredibly dense and strong yet still very flexible.

Po saw his new staff at the other corner of the cabin from the one where the food laid. No, he knew it was there before he even saw it, he could _sense_ it there more than he can sense everything else with his awareness. He reached towards it, then he noticed it started rattling and in an instant, it shot to his hand. The moment he came into contact with it, he could feel that he was connected to it again, an extension of his limbs, and he felt immensely powerful when he held it. His chi flowing through it, and he felt that he could actually physically _use_ his incredible amount of chi now.

Oogway watched the panda's realization with a smile, while his father was shocked at the fact the staff moved by itself in the first place.

"All great sages must have a staff in which they can use their chi through," Oogway explained, "From the moment you touched it, it became a part of you and for as long as you live, it will never break, and it will never leave your side."

"Whoa, that's so cool!" Po inspected the staff a bit longer before acting excitedly and swung the staff around clumsily which made Oogway chuckle. "It's just like yours!"

"Yes," Oogway said as he held out his own staff. It was similar yet different. The shape was different but it had the same aura, in which Po realizes he could _sense_ now. He could _sense_ chi!

"Although I have obtained mine when I was far older than you," Oogway said, "I am proud of you Po."

Po smiled.

"I am proud of you too!" Mr. Ping rebelled, "I was proud of him first!"

Po smiled even harder and gave a chuckle. "Where are we?" he asked.

"Why don't you come look!" Oogway replied.

With that, Po stepped outside the small cabin and gasped. They were on a boat. The water was so still and reflective due to the lack of wind that the only ripples on the surface were caused by the boat cutting through it like a knife. Po came out at the perfect moment to witness an orange sunset which was mirrored by the water. The sky glowed an orange and pink hue on one half, the other half was almost dark blue, ready to turn into night.

"Whoaa," Po gasped.

"Here is we begin our next lesson," Oogway said, then suddenly he jumped off the boat and Po shouted and looked away, ready for the splash sound the would occur when one fell into a large body of water. But the sound never came. Po slowly turns back and yelped in surprise when he saw Oogway _walking_ on water. "The next lesson is to learn control over your Chi"

~0~o~o~0~

 _6 months later_

The audible Kung Fu yelps and shouts could be heard from the Jade Palace as the furious five trained. They moved in unison, attacking master

Shifu as a drill, in which they were far more coherent than six months ago. They attacked one by one only to be easily evaded by the skillful master.

"Well done! Students, IF you were trying to disappoint me," Shifu exclaimed, "Tigress you need more ferocity, Monkey, greater speed, Crane, height, Viper, subtlety, Mantis-"

"Master Shifu," Interrupted a goose messenger.

"What!" said Shifu.

"You have a message from master Oogway," answered the goose.

Both Shifu and Tigress gasped as this was the first message they have received in the one and a half years since Master Oogway and Po left. Shifu took the scroll and headed towards the hall of heroes, and Tigress and the rest of the five followed. Once Shifu was inside the hall of heroes and out of hearing range from the palace staff, he began to read the message quietly.

 _Dear Shifu,_

 _By the time you are reading this six months must have passed since I've written this letter._

 _I'm sending you a message to tell you that Po has passed the first step towards his path to becoming the next great sage. Over the past year, we have traveled to the Sahara by foot and had managed to get there safely. Po has succeeded in going through the serpent's tomb but not unscratched, although I'm sure he'll wake up in a week or so. We are now heading all the way back to Gongmen where Po will learn about this past._

 _Until then, Goodbye_

 _Oogway._

Shifu was astounded when he read the message, Po has passed the legendary serpent's tomb in which only Oogway was able to pass throughout the course of history...and Oogway was a turtle. How Po managed to pass, he had no idea. He looked over to the curious eyes of the members of the furious five and Tigress's pleading ones. He handed it over to tigress, knowing how much she cared for her friend but commanded her to keep the contents to herself, of which the rest of the furious five could understand. Tigress read over the passage, and she smiled at how far her friend has gotten, and glad he's safe.

Tigress kept the message in her room before going back to training with the five and resting up for the night. In the evening, she came back to read the message again before going to bed searching for anything she missed. It was then, she heard a knock on the door. She opened it and saw the rest of the furious five members waiting outside. She let them in.

"So this Po," Viper started, "He's traveling with the legendary Master Oogway?"

"Yes," Tigress answered but reluctant to give any more information to her friends.

"Man, what I'd give to travel with master Oogway," Mantis said, "He's such a legend"

"Yeah, it's always been my dream to meet him," Crane said, "I mean, the man who unraveled the mysteries of harmony and focus, the man who created Kung Fu."

"So he didn't leave because of you," Viper said giving her a smile. It took time to sink in but Tigress understood what she meant.

"No it was me who drove him away," Tigress responded in denial.

"Tigress did you just hear us? If we had the chance, we would go with Oogway too, so you can stop being so hard on yourself," Viper continued.

Tigress stared at the scroll, now opened a bit longer, trying to digest her friends' words. She started giving off a smile as it sunk in. However, she has not lost that passion to be strong enough to stand beside him. Receiving the letter, only inspired her more so. Then she notices something at the bottom of the scroll, she unraveled it fully only to see that a large space was left blank. Normally one would cut off the scroll to not waste the paper, but then she gasped. She touched the surface and sure enough, she felt traces of writing, as if someone has written something and erased it.

"Does anyone have charcoal?" she asked.

The furious five paused from their conversations to look at the stunned Tigress. Crane started towards his room and came back with a charcoal pencil from his calligraphy and writing set. Tigress took it and gently sketched over the surface of the paper and gasped once more at the revealed message...from Po.

 _Hey Tigress,_

 _I really hope Master Shifu doesn't see this first, but I've had a long journey filled with exciting stories so far. I can't wait to get back and tell you about them!_

 _The last year, we traveled to the Sahara but you would not believe how different it is from the Valley of Peace. It was a land of golden sand, rippled like the sea. The people there, mainly camels, are tough and able to eat these super spiky plants called the cactus. I've tried so many different types of food and dad kept rambling on about these exotic ingredients for his noodles (He's probably going to another version of his secret ingredient soup)._

 _I'm just writing to you to tell you that...I miss you...and I hope you're not blaming yourself about my leave. As I said, it wasn't a goodbye when I left. It was a 'see you later.'_

 _See you in six years._

 _Love, Po._

Tigress finished the letter and stared at it a moment longer. She almost broke down in happiness in front of the rest of the furious five but instead, she gave them all a smile with teary eyes and waited until they leave to give her privacy. The eleven-year-old, soon to be twelve, Tigress jumped on her bed and squealed in delight. She knew he doesn't blame her for holding him back before but to still see him worried made her really happy. And the fact that he _missed_ her made her even happier. After reading Oogway's passage, it was more of a report on Po than hearing from Po himself, in which she missed and craved. Now that she found the hidden message from Po she felt satisfied because she too missed him dearly. She missed the Sunday nights the spent together. She missed his cuddliness and optimistic attitude. She missed the way he smiles and seems to make anyone else smile back. She missed his bright Jade eyes that could see through her no matter what walls she tried to put up. She missed being _with_ him...and there's nothing she wouldn't give to be with him right now.

With that final thought, Tigress fell asleep with the scroll tucked in one hand, the other clutching the necklace Po gave her.

She missed him more than anything.

~0~o~o~0~

 _Meanwhile…._

Po has now mastered chi. It actually took him longer than Oogway expected with his amount of talent but Po's enormous reservoir of chi proved difficult to control...and to teach. However, now Po could easily walk and sprint on water by focusing chi at the base of his feet. He could draw symbols and characters of power in the air using his staff and detonate it causing it to act in the way he wanted to. With this amount of chi, Oogway thought, he would never run out even if he is facing the world. Good thing the next great sage is this dependable.

Po twirled the crooked staff in his hand with his newly found mastery. The staff was truly an extension of his limbs now. The way the staff hooked at the end proved incredibly useful in disarming weapons, in which Oogway also taught him….while on water. Oogway somehow already had both wooden and metal weapons packed in the boat and practiced sparring with Po while Po used his staff. The first few matches, Oogway won easily. Either by beating him fair and square, or Po losing his concentration in his Chi and fell in the water. It must be second nature to him in order for him not to lose focus. Oogway would always win with a chuckle. That was six months ago when they started training...

The last few matches which took place recently, however, that was not necessarily the case. Oogway was not the greatest in using a sword, spear, or any other weapon than a staff but he was not far behind. Yet, now there matches now always ended up in Oogway being scored on by a hit or being disarmed. Oogway had no choice but to use his own staff now and even that was not easy. Po gained such mastery with his staff in six months that he now gave the old turtle trouble keeping up with his powerful blows and swift strikes. They did not forget about hand to hand combat, in which Po also excelled in. This Panda is truly something else….Oogway thought.

Oogway gave a satisfied sigh and looked towards their destination. They will reach Gongmen city soon...and that was a challenge Po is going to face internally. For the place, they were going to is the birthplace and former home of the pandas before the slaughter. There, he will find out his past and he will need to accept it, then will he be able to find inner peace…

00000

They have arrived in Gongmen City...and Po was stunned. It was a glowing city on a hill. The traditional Chinese houses were crowded in the small piece of land, each one radiating with the warmth of happiness. The fishing boats near the docks had sails that looked like the wing of an orange phoenix. The sunlight of dawn had shone a beautiful yellow upon the city, making it all the more stunning. Po wondered how many more beautiful places he will see in his travels.

"Whoa," Po said, "This is aweeeesome"

Oogway smiled at the young Panda. He wondered if his enthusiasm would dwindle in the next few years...he hoped not. He would be the light in the darkness when the time comes, both physically and emotionally. He would have to carry the world and to do that he must not have something holding him back. Something like his past. He must find inner peace before he can proceed, and until then, Oogway must wait. Well, at least his dad wouldn't be that sad. He'd probably set up a temporary noodle shop.

"A new place, and new noodles!" Ping exclaimed right as Oogway thought it, "Oh I'm so excited! Come, son, we must waste time"

"Okay dad," Po said but not before seeing the nod Oogway made in approval.

"You two may spend the night as you wish," Oogway said in response, "I will meet up with some old disciples and tell them of my adventures. After you're done, I'll find you" ...and with that, Oogway disappeared.

"Wait, how will he know where we are…?" Po said but he knew better. His master would always come out of nowhere and seemed to know exactly where they were.

"Well let's not get sidetracked, Po! Oh, look! A noodle stall! Let's try it out" Po said as he dragged his son along.

~0~o~o~0~

 _6 months later….again_

Po was now well into his mastery of inner peace. _Well, that didn't take long._ Oogway thought. The boy and his father learned about his past as soon as they had arrived at the location of Po's birth village and, although it took a while, Po began to accept it. He was glad that he wasn't orphaned because he was unloved but he was orphaned because of his safety.

However, Po's memory only gave up the story one piece at a time and every morning, Po would be near the lake meditating and practicing his inner peace, regaining bits and bits about what had happened to his real family. Po still loved his goose dad fiercely, and Oogway was relieved. The father and son bond they had was immensely powerful. They were truly father and son in anything but blood...and race.

000

Po had sat near the lake meditating. He was taller than two years ago when he left the valley of peace. He kept techniques fine-tuned with Master Oogway by practicing anytime they could and now he practically went toe to toe with his master, however, Oogway always seemed to get the last strike in before they stopped. Po was still a panda so he didn't grow lean, he was still a bit plump and cuddly but he now held immense strength, rivaling that of a kung fu master despite being ten years old. He can hold his own...probably against two masters simultaneously, but he didn't know that. The only person he compared himself to was master Oogway for his was his master and he was chasing in his master's footsteps.

The sound of light rain caused a small smirk to rise in the tips of the panda's mouth. He got ready for his inner peace technique. As the raindrops came down, some faster than others, Po set his feet and caught one of them with his hand. The drop flowed with his movements and Po's memories started coming back again. This time it all came out. It showed everything. While Po switches the raindrop from one hand to another his mind was infiltrated by memories of a loving mother and a protective father, he would have to accept their sacrifice with no lingering feelings of regret or, worse, anger so that he may achieve inner peace. Po had struggled with it a while ago but it didn't take long for his compassionate heart and understanding attitude to accept the truth. Now the raindrop flowed ceaselessly, finding no end to its journey until Po directed it to the leaf of a small plant which caressed its shape and dropped the raindrop carefully into the vast lake. With that, Po felt all his anxiety, anger and regret lifted before him, he let it flow without holding on, and now he has finally achieved it. He achieved inner peace.

"Well done, my student," Master Oogway said as he approached the panda.

Po smiled with tears in his eyes. He sniffed and cried for the loss of his parents but he didn't linger on the emotions but he was happy with what he has now, his dad, Master Oogway...Tigress.

"Now we will begin the last step in your journey to becoming the great sage before the trial" Oogway continued.

"Trial? What trial?" Po asked. However, his master simply smiled sadly and walked away.

~0~o~o~0~

The furious five were now old and strong enough to begin doing missions together. Tigress already had experience, but that was when such an astounding warrior by her side. Now, she had the furious five but despite the time they trained together and the skill each of them has, she couldn't help but admit that she felt safer with Po. Po was reliable. Now she has to be the reliable one.

The emergency gong rang.

The five darted out the training hall and barely heard a messenger goose saying "farmer's village" before racing down the steps. They traveled fast, like the wind. Despite all being only twelve, they knew the responsibility they all held. They must protect the valley.

000

Out in the distance, panicked screams and shouts could be heard. The ox bandits were stealing crops and food products, which held extreme significance in the valley's needs. Without the crops, they would have no food and go into famine. They would starve and businesses would collapse. The furious five _must_ stop them.

They worked efficiently, dispatching the bandits with flawless teamwork whilst Tigress led them. In half an hour they worked their way to the last bandits who were now attempting to flee. The five caught up with them instantly and rendered the rest of them unconscious. The village cheered for the furious five, praising them and gave them a bow as they walked past. Viper walked past one of the unconscious bandits carelessly, and one of them twitched. Tigress had seen this trick before. She walked over to Viper and slammed her foot on the bandit's groin. The bandit shot up howling in pain only to be met with a swift punch by Tigress to render him truly unconscious.

Viper gasped at her own carelessness, but monkey, crane and Mantis looked like they were in pain themselves, covering their own manly parts.

"Remind me not to get on her bad side," Mantis said.

"Agreed," the two other boys said in unison.

* * *

 **Until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Po you have achieved both the mastery of chi and found inner peace in all but two years," Oogway said, "You have exceeded my expectations time and time again."

Po smiled, eager to learn whatever his master throws at him next.

"This will be my last lesson to you, the rest, you must figure out by yourself," Oogway continued.

Po gasped. Master Oogway's _last_ lesson. "What do you mean your last lesson, Master?"

"I will teach you about how to listen to the will of the universe, be in tune with it, and drill you with wisdom beyond imaginable"

"We're gonna study? Awww," Po said, "So this is like, a bunch of mini-lessons packed into one big one, which you say will be the last"

Oogway smiled, "Yes, pretty much...but we won't do just regular studying." Oogway motioned for Po to sit and meditate next to him, and Po did exactly that. Once they began meditating, Oogway linked his Chi with Po and they both found it comforting. The chi of the master and student intertwined and Oogway showed Po how he could link to the universe. It took a while getting used to but Po followed his master's Chi. It was guiding him with patience and love, which Po was forever grateful for. They were in the stars of the night, looking down onto a blue ball encompassed by a sea of clouds. It was beautiful, and through this Po could see everything. He was inanimate, no physical being, no flesh, no fur, no bones, just his soul and the world. His master guided him taking him to the Sahara, the place he traveled to in his first year, he took him to where they are now, Gongmen city, then he took him….he took him home. The Valley of Peace, it was striving and prospering, being watched upon by the Jade Palace. They were in the skies peering down upon them before Po sensed something. Adrenaline. Danger. Evil. The valley was being attacked! But before Po react and ask his master to do something, the emergency gong rang and suddenly five warriors burst out of the Jade Palace. One was a crane, one was a viper, one was a monkey, one was a small green mantis Po barely spotted and the one leading them all, was none other than his greatest friend. Tigress. He saw them work and dispatched the bandits one by one, with such teamwork that he could not help but feel proud of his friend. He was still worried about her but she seemed to be doing fine. Suddenly, as he watched the five warriors finishing up the job, he saw Tigress staring into the sky. No, she was staring _right at_ _him_. Then she turned around and made sure the bandits were handled by the guards probably thinking that she was imagining things. Po could hear Oogway's chuckle.

"She has such a deep connection with you," Oogway said.

Po didn't deny it. Tigress was Po's greatest friend, and he would love nothing more than just to see her again...physically...and talk with her. He sighed in relief. She was doing just fine without him. He thought.

"This, Po, actually hasn't happened yet," Oogway said and Po was confused at his statement. "This is what is going to happen in five minutes"

After a while, the words sunk in and Po gasped. They were seeing into the _future._

"The universe only chooses one great sage at a time, just like it chose me to be the first and you to be the second, once my time is nearing the end. Now, you see the responsibility we hold. We can see everything, past and present but the universe trusts us to make the right choices, even the ones we don't like. The universe trusts us to keep the world safe, and evil contained. This is why I must teach you about making the right decisions, for when my time has come, you will be the only one left to make such decisions. We, great sages, can never be wrong as the red string of fate is tied to our very soul. We must learn how to move without breaking it and cause the darkness to swallow the world forever," Oogway stated.

Po understood of such responsibilities. His inner peace allowing him to accept his own fate with ease as he knew he was meant for this from the time he was born. He must become the guardian of this world, he must grow up far wiser than his age so that we will make the right decisions. He nodded towards his master...towards wherever his spirit lays in the sky he was floating on. Then he flashed back to reality along with Oogway.

"Oh!" Ping said in delight "That was a really short meditation session! Come let's eat,"

"Short?" Po asked, "How long were we meditating?"

"A couple minutes," His dad replied casually as he prepared breakfast.

 _Minutes?_ That felt like _hours._ He gave Oogway his confused look and Oogway smiled back.

"This is exactly how I'm going to make you far wiser beyond your age," Oogway said, "Every hour you spend in the realm of the universe is just a single minute in the real realm. I will train your wisdom for the next two years which would amount to a hundred and twenty years in the realm of the universe. However, we will only train for about three hours a day which would amount to only fifteen years so that you wouldn't be too mentally exhausted. Then in the evening, we can sharpen your physical skills to the point where no one can stand up to you if they were to fight, understood?"

Oogway explained the game plan very clearly. Po has to bear through this disciplined plan for two excruciating years, but he only nodded in understanding, much to Oogway's surprise. The panda's trust in his master was unfathomable...and Oogway felt proud like never he had been before. He had many students in his life but none of them were to be his successor, unlike Po. Oogway was relieved that such a young man was willing to step up to the responsibility. Oogway loved Po almost like a son...if he ever had one.

From then on, the days rolled into weeks and weeks rolled into years. Until two years had passed(four years after the journey had started). Po was far wiser than he was before and his physical prowess has exceeded even Oogway. His mastery of the hooked and crooked staff has outdueled Oogway's, his mastery of Chi was extraordinary, and his inner peace had allowed him to accept his fate as the next Great Sage. He was ready...Oogway thought...Ready for the trial.

~0~o~o~0~

Tigress, now fourteen, is a prodigy. She was the leader of the furious five and is now obtaining her title as "Master" tigress. She had read and finished the thousand scrolls of Kung Fu at a much younger age than Tai Lung, and she mastered her style of Tiger techniques to perfection. She was still heaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the furious five but she helped them develop their Kung Fu so that they too were close in obtaining the title of master. Although Shifu was afraid of creating another Tai Lung, he simply did not see his cold and dark heart in Tigress, and perhaps that was thanks to her training with her friends. Therefore he allowed the young tigress to obtain her master title, and proceed in her training as the valley's main protector.

The five has saved the valley many times in the previous two years after Master Shifu deemed them strong enough to handle threats by themselves. The furious five was now hailed as heroes by both children and adults of the valley, most of all Master Tigress, whom everybody loved and looked up to. She spent her Sunday evenings going down to the valley to help around for free and spend time with children. It's what Po would have wanted, she kept telling herself. Her hard demeanor had people still nervous around her presence but her actions spoke more than a thousand words. She helped by volunteering in orphanages, shops, healing wards, she did them all...and for that, she gained much respect as a master and no one ever saw such righteousness performed by a Kung Fu warrior. She was light and day compared to Tai Lung.

Tigress trained hard during the weekdays, never slowing down and always finding more stuff to do. She dueled with the furious five, however it was no longer one on one. It was four on one, in which she still won. The rest of the furious five showed their frustrations in the beginning but they accepted their loss simply it was because it was Tigress they were against. She was a prodigy amongst prodigies. Unrivaled in combat….perhaps she could even beat Tai Lung.

000

Tigress was sitting under the peach tree. It was Sunday evening and she was watching the sunset with one hand caressing the pendant around her neck. She had been wondering the same thought for years: _I wonder what Po is doing..._ She sighed and stared at the orange-red sunset. It reminded her of a certain night years ago where Po had brought her down to the valley for the first time. She still remembered the sensation of his soft fur as she leaned her head against his shoulder, she could remember the words he said that night: _Anything for you, Tigress._ Her heart warmed like never before at that moment, and now her heart scorched in an even hotter fire. It had only been three years but it felt like decades. She clutched her pendant harder, then she heared a certain slither of her friend. It was Viper and the rest of the five.

"A beautiful sunset, isn't it sister?" Viper said.

"It certainly is," Tigress said as she smiled, "there was a time when Po and I sat here with this same sunset looking down at the valley."

The furious four where shocked at her confession. Normally Tigress would avoid a conversation about her "friend" at all costs...but now she seemed contempt and happy. The orange of the sunset made Tigress' fur glow in a certain manner which looked stunning to all the boys.

"When I came from Bai Gu orphanage, I thought that everybody would still be afraid of me," Tigress continued, "but Po took me down to the valley and showed me how it really was. They weren't afraid here...everybody accepted each other."

"That was really sweet of him," Viper said, "I'd like to meet him someday."

With that Tigress lost her smile and that familiar feeling of loneliness swarmed her again. However, this time she felt the gentle touch of Viper's tail on her back and she turned to see the four staring at her with smiling faces. She smiled back, her loneliness somewhat lifted, then they all looked towards the valley of peace.

"When he comes back, I'll show him that I can stand beside him as an equal...you guys will too," Tigress said.

"Uhm...I'm just saying, but how do you know you have already surpassed him. I mean, judging by how hard you train and the amount of talent you have, who probably far surpassed him already…"Crane said.

Tigress looked back at the four with a sad smile but didn't say anything in return. She couldn't say that _she actually just really wanted to meet him again…_

~0~o~o~0~

In the last month, Po, Oogway, and Ping traveled in incredible speeds - with Ping flying to keep up...much to Po's surprise - until they finally made it to their destination. Absolutely nowhere. Again the father and son looked at Oogway quizzically. They were in the middle of the ocean's low tide. The salt water tingled against their knees, the wind caused small waves which crashed against the shore far off in the distance. It was a strange phenomenon, the water seemed to be this shallow for a large distance.

They waited, waited and waited for even longer. Po had better patience from his long meditation but his father was not so.

"What, exactly, are we waiting for?!" Ping exclaimed.

Right as Ping asked that, the ground beneath them started to rumble. The water beneath them shook violently and the waves were getting bigger. Then, the water started to depart in a circular shape and the ground beneath it succumbed into a very, very large hole. The water fell into what seemed like an endless abyss. It was so deep that they could not see the bottom.

"Once every three full moons, a random portal opens in the world that connects the void," Oogway explained, "The void is a place were haunted souls reside, trapped in a place between the spirit and real realm. They are stuck there eternally wandering trying to find a way out but there is none...not unless you are still alive. It is a place of nightmares."

gasped, "And why are we in such a place?"

Po remained silent, as he figured out what was going on. The trial. The trial for the next great sage much something that no one other than a great sage can get through. It must truly be hell. Po looked towards his master who gave him a solemn look but Po nodded in understanding. He knew what to do. His wisdom, far greater than before, could easily figure this out. Once he goes in there, he must try to find a way back by himself...without dying. The pressure of dying is insane as if, _if,_ you die in the void, you are stuck there eternally as his master had said. However, his wisdom and inner peace will keep him sane. If he was truly meant to be the next great sage, then he has to survive this. If he doesn't survive hell who would the world look to when hell comes?

He must do this.

His father, still not understanding the situation, kept asking Oogway why they were here. Po gave him a hug to calm him down, in which he was hugged back. Then, Po pulled away and Oogway held his father in his arms. Po turned to face the void.

"Wha-What are you doing Po!?" his father exclaimed in panic, "No don't go there! Didn't you just here Oogway?!"

Po started walking towards it and heard his father's protests after the realization hit him too. He screamed from the top of his lungs. He cried and struggled against Oogway's iron grip. Po looked back one last time to his master's grieving expression and his father's frenzied struggle. He smiled and jumped in the void.

~0~o~o~0~

 _6 months later._

It was another day on the job for Tigress. The emergency bell rang in the morning and the furious five darted to the town that needed saving, returning hours later having saved the valley...again. All members of the furious five were masters now, although still not anywhere near Tigress.

Tigress and the furious five were walking up the steps to the Jade Palace, they were all talking about how the mission could have gone differently and what they would have done if so. Upon reaching the steps, Tigress noticed something odd. She could sense that someone had returned to the Jade palace but she let her hopes die down as she knew it was far too early for Po to come back. Yet, she still raced inside with the other four chasing after her. They gasped. Standing in front of them was none other than Master Oogway, the man who unraveled the mysteries of harmony and focus...the man who created Kung Fu. Her hopes shot back up.

Tigress' eyes darted around and her nose sniffed hoping to catch a scent of her panda. Oogway noticed and chuckled.

"Po has still yet to complete the final parts of his training, in which he must do by himself," Oogway said.

Tigress bowed in understanding. Her fiery hope died down yet again whilst the rest of the furious five still gasped in awe after meeting the great master. They were in front of the man who created kung fu! They quickly bowed in respect after Tigress cleared her throat. Oogway chuckled and walked over to the sacred peach tree of heavenly wisdom to meditate. He was going to need a lot of it for the heartbreaking decision he had to make. If Po died in there, not even the gods could save him.

* * *

 **Sorry for being so short this time. Next will be a time skip to three years in the future where Po's experiences in the void will be kept a secret(to you and the five)...until it needs to be revealed. Please give this a favorite! it helps me keep my motivation.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Until now, I was speeding up the story a bit but from here on out is where the story really begins. Think of everything before this chapter as the "prologue arc." It will be slowing down from here. CORNY SCENES UP AHEAD.**

 **Chapter 8**

 _Three years later._

The furious five's fame had spread like wildfire across China. Their great success in accomplishing deeds had sealed them with the title as the greatest kung fu team of all time. Each member wielded their own respective styles, achieving such mastery that even the greatest Kung Fu teacher of all time, Master Shifu, had difficulty dealing with them individually. Master Shifu had reunited with his own master, Master Oogway, three years ago and was sad to see that his master looked paler by the day. He was approaching his end, but he was holding on with all his might in order to wait for his successor to come home.

Three years ago, Oogway had left his successor in the void and had to drag his father back to the valley of peace, ensuring him that his son WILL return home, as the fate of the universe depends on it.

It was simply another day where the furious five trained as hard as they could to keep their skills sharpened. Mantis was fighting in the gauntlet of wooden warriors striking them with speed and grace whilst dodging the counter attacks it caused when it was hit upon. Crane was in the jade tortoise of wisdom, practicing his techniques whilst keeping balance to such a level that it looked like he was simply on the ground. Monkey was in using the seven talon rings to enhance his agility and focus as a single mistake could cause a world of pain from the metal spike which encompassed the rings. Viper was in the field of fiery death, working on her evasion as she dodges each attack that came. Tigress was in the seven swinging clubs of instant oblivion, an obstacle she easily dealt with since year ago but kept doing it to keep her defensive skills sharp. The furious five progressed far faster than Shifu imagined, with Tigress helping them with their training. It was then the gong of noon was heard and they headed for lunch.

In the dining hall, Tigress ate her regular plate of tofu as she kept her diet strict in order to perform at the highest level in Kung Fu...and to look good for someone who may come home at any time. She counted the days of his departure and the day which made his seventh year gone passed two months ago and he was still never to be found. She sighed in distress. She couldn't get any information on Po's whereabouts from her grandfather, no matter how much she begged and pleaded. She sighed again. Her grandfather was dying, he was getting paler and paler by the day and now his shell looked cracked and decayed. His time was nearing and she could do nothing to help him. However, she was told that it was his fate and the universe wished for it, he was just holding on to see his disciple again...and Tigress hoped it would be soon.

"You're sulking again, Tigress," viper stated as she ate her bean buns.

"We all know your special friend is late in coming home but have some faith, will you? I mean...he's the GREAT successor of master Oogway and all and a panda too! Why would anyone even dare to go near him without being afraid of being sat on," Crane said sarcastically after Oogway had shared with them about who Po really was.

Tigress' thoughts stopped in their tracks. If there was one thing that really, REALLY ticked tigress off was when someone was talking bad about her friend. There had been one time a decade ago when she heard her friend being teased by some of her admirers. She silenced them instantly. Now here she was, worried as hell about his safety, only to have this bird make fun of him? No, she would not have it.

Crane, suddenly realizing Tigress's deathly stare, stopped talking instantly. She only gave that stare to her enemies, to those who she would not be afraid to kill. He gulped and dropped his spoon into the bowl of noodles he was enjoying. The last thing ANYONE wanted to do was make Tigress mad and he did it by himself...foolishly. The rest of the furious five watched between the two, afraid of a fight breaking out but they all knew that if Tigress was to get serious they would all have no chance.

"If anyone of us was hurt or, worse, dead, would you still be speaking our names in that way?" Tigress asked in a menacing tone.

"No. Tigress, it was an accident I swear. I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything- it just slipped out-" Crane frantically replied.

"Good," Tigress interrupted, "I may have known you for longer but no one and I mean NO ONE will be a greater friend to me than Po. He was a brother. He was more. I WANTED it to be more before he left...and to hear you speak like that about him while I'm worried as hell about whether he even lives or not, makes me want to rip your tongue out and tie it around your throat so that the next time you speak, you would actually _think_ before you say"

Everyone gasped in horror. Never before have they seen Tigress so furious and the fact that she even confessed about how she felt and what she wanted to do with him meant that she wasn't going to take even the slightest insult towards her friend. There was an eerie silence before Tigress sat up from her half-finished plate of Tofu and walked towards the direction of the peach tree, exiting the dining hall with a furious mood. Alright, crane messed up...he messed up BIG TIME.

"Holy crap, are we still alive?" Mantis blurted after she was far enough gone.

"I thought she was about to kill us all! Way to go, crane," Monkey said.

"Hey guys, you know I didn't mean anything about it...It's just that you know...I was just angry that this Po was to be the great successor of the legendary Master Oogway, something even the dragon warrior would die for," Crane said, "At first I thought he was just going on the trip so that he could carry Oogway's luggage or something…"

There was another silence after that. It was because the rest of the furious five members felt the same thing.

"Nonetheless, I think we should all go apologise to Tigress," Viper said, "We all felt the same thing and it's better just to say it to her honestly."

They all nodded before heading to the sacred peach tree themselves where they found tigress sitting in a very familiar position as she did many, many years ago. Her knees were to her chest and the arms wrapped tightly around it. She wanted Po to put his arm around her shoulder again, and tell her the everything was going to be okay. That he would be there for her when she's hurt, but now she couldn't do the same for him. He was probably in danger somewhere and she can't do anything but sit here and wait, hoping that he comes back safely. She leaned against the peach tree, her hand unconsciously coming up to her neck and carefully took out the pendant from under her vest to caress it as she did practically every time she was alone for the last seven years. Grief started to shake her. What if he's never coming back? Her expression scrunched into a painful frown. Her eyes started to become teary and she almost sobbed before hearing the four approach her. Her steeled herself.

"I'm so sorry Tigress," Crane said.

"It's not just him, we're all sorry," Viper added, "We were just jealous that your friend had obtained such a great duty and honor to become Master Oogway's successor."

Tigress grew pained again. "I wish he didn't," she replied, "If it wasn't for that stupid duty, he would have been able to stay here...with me"

For the third time today, they all became quiet again, the only sound was the leaves of the peach tree rustling against the wind. Then, Tigress started sobbing. Viper rushed over to her side immediately and put her tail around her shoulder trying to comfort her. Tigress, the stone cold, steel hearted tigress was crying her eyes out in fear that her friend may never come back to her again. Perhaps she would regret showing weakness later but all she felt now was the heart clenching grief that would rattle her in her sleep. _He-he's not coming back._ She thought.

It was then the rustling of the leaves stopped and the silence of the world became deafening. Tigress looked up from her kneeling position and took a moment to wonder at the strange phenomenon. She heard an echo two small bells ringing together as if to tell that something _fated_ is about to happen. Her eyes, along with the rest of the five's, gazed to where it came from and all were in shock to see a big sized man walking up the stairs, near the gate with a steady unrushed pace. Who he got here without them noticing way far beyond them.

The man wore an old and ragged brown robe with grey pants. A very noticeable wide silk red scarf indented with an artistic golden pattern that was extremely detailed as if to tell a story, wrapped around his neck and diagonally across his body. He wore a straw hat which covered his face as he leaned down. He was tall, large, but held a familiar cuddliness that reminded Tigress of a certain someone. Then, Tigress rushed to the front gate as if the universe was telling her to go. Go. _Now._

The furious five made their way there quickly only to see Master Shifu and Oogway already waiting there for the approaching man. Shifu seemed as if he was dragged here by his master but all knew Oogway was now far too weak to do that. He must have run after him after his sickly master started to dart outside.

They all stood there as they waited for the dark silhouette of the large warrior to come closer and closer before he stood in front of them all. Tigress noticed master Oogway's, her grandfather's, smile as the man bowed with his crooked staff in his hands. Shifu gasped, already understanding the meaning of such a weapon. It was almost just like Oogway's. The warrior took his hat off and held it in his hands and no one breathed a word. For the fourth and final time of the day, silence enveloped them all.

After the moment of stunned surprise, Tigress rushed towards him and gave him a hug that would have suffocated any other person. Her head burrowed into his shoulders and she cried, truly this time, thanking the universe for returning her friend. It was Po. Older, stronger, and a...a more handsome Po who still wore that signature smile that Tigress would have killed to see the past seven years. His fur which hasn't been groomed or trimmed gave him a ragged but alluring appearance as if he was a full-fledged adventurer who had seen it all. It was Po, her amazing, kind-hearted Panda who gave her the worst time of her life by leaving her alone. It was worse the Bai Gu, it was worse than anything.

But...But now he's back and she felt as if her well renowned "iron heart" melted into a puddle of warm liquid. She squeezed even tighter after hearing him say: "Hey guys, sorry for being late, it was a longer walk than I expected." Oh gods his _voice,_ far deeper now that he's older but had that same tone he had long ago which made the furs on her body rise with beloved electricity. Then he hugged her back and she felt as if she was floating above the clouds, flying through loopholes of loving reminiscence. His cuddliness was still there, as she had expected, but he felt far, FAR stronger than before. His muscles were dense and tight beneath his skin and she dared to touch them when she had the chance. She tried to hold back her tears and looked up at Po from her hug and was instantly charmed by a newer, lopsided smirk that she had never seen before. Her everything melted.

Po's smile faded into a more caring expression. "Hey, Tigress I've missed you-"

He was interrupted by a kiss as Tigress pulled down his head with a determined force and kissed the living daylights out of him...despite being in front of others. It wasn't that same innocent kiss that she gave him when he was leaving; this kiss was a needing, desperate kiss that she dreamt of having in one of her...teenage nights. Her tongue rolled into his and she was delighted with his surprised gasp as she worked her way to confirm that this all isn't a dream. Their affectionate contact lingered for a moment longer before Oogway reminded them that they were still here by clearing his throat. Tigress tasted his tongue for a minute longer before pulling away, something they were both reluctant to do. She saw the lopsided smirk again and the fire of a blush burned her face as she realized what she had done in front of an audience. Although she didn't really care what anyone would think of her right now as nothing could be close in comparison as to getting her friend back, she still felt horribly embarrassed that it was her friends and masters that had to witness that. She was suddenly jealous of the ability a rabbit would have when they felt shy by finding their face with their long ears, something her bunny admirers had done in the past.

She stepped back in line with the furious five and tried to pretend nothing had happened as the five gazed at her. Oogway walked towards him and Tigress along with the others were surprised to see the old turtle giving Po a hug of his own, in which Po returned. She could faintly hear her grandfather say "I'm sorry" before letting go, but Po smiled in an expression that conveyed forgiveness in response.

"I'm really sorry to bother you Shifu," Po said, "but I'm extremely tired. I've made my way here right after my training had ended and had not gotten any sleep. May I rest for the night and talk about this tomorrow?"

"Uh, Oh! Uhm, Of course!" Shifu said in response, "Your living quarters in front of Tigress' room was left as it was since before you left"

"That'd be perfect," Po responded.

Oogway pegged Po on in encouragement with his staff and Po gave a small bow then made his way towards his room. Oogway knew that this sleep will be the first sleep Po will have in over three years...

00000

Later that night, after Po had gone into his room and collapsed, and after the five had finished their training, every member of the five simply laid awake in their own respective beds. Po had come home. Tigress, especially, couldn't even manage to let her eyelids drop and get some sleep from here physically and mentally exhausting day. There were so many thoughts going on in her head: Po had returned home, his appearance had changed significantly, those arms which hugged her, she could feel the denseness of his muscles, those jade green eyes, and that signature smile...and that newer lopsided smirk she was dying to see again. She heard his steady breathing in the dead silence of the night, inhaling and exhaling, reminding her that he was alive and well. Sho only hoped that no one else is hearing her heart hammering against her ribcage. She pressed into it as if it might leap out but she couldn't bear the eagerness. The eagerness to see Po one more time. She got up from her bed and with careful, noiseless steps, she traveled between her door to Po's. She carefully opened it to see a panda, her panda in deep sleep. He was still in his brown robe and grey pants which gave him a more mature appearance. Before, Po only wore his shorts which were stitched back up, again and again, every time it ripped. Now he was an adult or soon going to be, and Tigress was ashamed she wasn't there to watch him every step of the way.

She kneeled down beside his bed and brushed his face with her calloused fingers, careful not to wake him. He was in deep sleep as if he hadn't taken one for years. His fur, much longer now, made him look older than seventeen and she wondered where Po had been the last three years to not care for his own grooming...but she liked it. It made him look like a seasoned warrior - which he is - and more mature, someone more likely to swipe her up from her feet and devour her neck in blissful love. She chilled at the thought. Had she been too rash? Perhaps Po didn't feel the same way she did after all these years. Perhaps h-he found someone else during his adventures...and here she was kissing him like a madman to moment she saw him...but she didn't feel Po push her away, in fact, she felt that he leaned in for more- for much, much more than a kiss. Her hopes flared up again and observed her panda as he moved in his slumber, turning to face her. She smiled at his struggle to find a comfortable sleeping position, then she guided his head and placed it gently on her kneeling thighs, giving him a lap pillow. It seemed to work as he quickly got back into that rhythmic breathing. She simply sat there gazing at his beloved face for hours but felt like minutes. After, she gently lifted his head from her lap and placed in carefully back on his pillow. Her heart nearly stopped as he unconsciously reached out to her as he separated from her lap, before beating like crazy again. She couldn't get herself to leave his side and go back to her room. She was deprived of Po for seven years, and surely she deserved more time with him in compensation. With that thought, Tigress found herself sleeping next to Po with one arm placed gently above his plump stomach, and something clicked within her. She felt as if she belonged there. She felt her very soul connecting to his and she felt full, like a long lost part of herself came back and made her complete again. This was what she was needing, craving, starving for the past years. Po.

As the night went on, Tigress' breath matched with Po's and she fell asleep with her head leaning on his chest. It was the best sleep she ever had.

* * *

 **Welp here's the not so long-awaited reunion and I'm excited as you are from where it goes from here...if anyone's even excited. So let me know if you are!**

 **Please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter.**

P.S I already know what I'm going to do with this story if you're wondering. I'm not making it up as I go, I made it up as I planned. Cheers!


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the super late update guys. I was busy with assessments. I will try to get back on schedule (probably once every two or three days) but no promises. As always, enjoy!**

* * *

Tigress awoke just as she normally did, right before dawn. Her eye was hazy and failed to adjust from the sheer bliss of the best sleep she had in a long time. Her arms were upon a large furry being, moving ever so slightly up and down according to rising and falling of his chest. Her head was on a tougher but still comfortable area in which was his shoulder, near his collar bone. In was a divine feeling greater than any pillow not just for her body but her mind and heart as well. Her hands caressed the being's fur and her fingers playfully drew small circles and she giggled to herself. Never before had she felt so peaceful, so happy...so in love...just as she was as a child seven years ago.

"Morning," Po said with a rough, though yet incredibly sweet voice.

She flinched. Po, it was Po. Her eyes snapped in realization to the jade green eyes that looked upon her and she gasped. It was the same eyes that had stared into her seven years ago. The same ones that melted her heart and instantly made her day better. The same ones in which she would dream about every. single. night. Without knowing, she followed her instincts and leaned in for a kiss. The gasp Po made along with the groan that came after as he kissed her back passionately sent butterflies down her stomach. More, she wanted more. Losing herself in the moment, she swang herself above Po and kissed him with a higher, needing intensity that she so desperately needed the past years. She gave a growl, menacing but extremely sexy, and explored the inner canals of his mouth with her tongue. He pulled her in, matching her intensity and kissed her the same way she did. His tongue roamed and wandered as if her mouth was an exciting adventure that needed exploring. She melted, again, relieved to see Po needing her as much as she needed him. A silent agreement was made between their souls and bodies, an agreement that said that they would never be full again unless they were with each other. An agreement she loved with all her heart for she wouldn't know how she would even spend a day without him anymore. She wanted him to be in her life now and forever. She was abruptly pulled back, breaking their sweet-savory kiss, and those beautiful jade green eyes fell on her again. Gods, those eyes. She was leaning back in again asking for another kiss before Po said:

"We're going to wake up the others and the morning gong is going to ring soon."

Reality quickly snapped back at her. As much as she would love staying longer with Po, she wouldn't want the five and Master Shifu seeing them come out of the same room greeting good morning. They weren't ready for that yet. Quickly, she got up and tightened her now loosened silk vest and her training pants which were crumpled from sleeping with Po. She tried to get herself ready by patting herself down and made her way towards the door. But before she could open it and slide into her room, she was pulled back and was met with a kiss that made her knees buckle like sloppy wet noodles.

"I've missed you Tigress," Po said after he pulled back.

Tigress, blissfully stunned, gathered herself once more before meeting Po's gaze with her own. "I've missed you too," she replied, "far more than you can ever imagine."

With that, she quickly sneaked back into her room without making a single creak of the wooden floorboards. Soon after, the morning bell came and all six greeted Master Shifu with their disciplined hand to fist gesture. Their day was going to begin...along with an extra bear sized guest named Po. Po the panda.

~0~o~o~0~

It was quite disappointing for the five and master Shifu to find that Master Oogway has called his disciple in to meet with him during their training times. They all wanted to see the next Great Sage in action. However, they must respect the wishes of the old master and allow the panda to go with him. As usual, their training went by, hard and intense, with tigress leading all exercises with expertise and mastery that she gained over the years. She was overly eager to get her training done so that she could have extra time with her panda during lunch by heading there early. The five were shocked to see Tigress like this. There was nothing more important to Tigress than her training and for her to treat it as a nuisance shows how much more she cared about Po…

Tigress finished her last course in the field of fiery death and even Shifu was shocked to see her bolting out of the training hall to meet her friend for lunch. She was soaked with sweat, which made her feel a bit insecure, but Po had said he actually didn't mind it and, in fact, found it nice since long ago so she wasn't worrying too much. She finished her session at an entire twenty minutes early and quickly found her panda in the kitchen making his noodles as he did before he left. That same spiced, delicious aroma filled Tigress with wanted nostalgia, a memory which she could have had more off. She greeted Po by wrapping her arms around him as he was still chopping the onions. He turned, knowing that she was already coming as he sensed her leave the training hall minutes ago, and gave her a bright loving smile as he always would. She gave a smile of her own.

"Hey, Po," She said, "I missed you"

Po chuckled, "but it only been since this morning."

"You think you can stay away from me any longer than seven years, then you are mistaken. You are mine from now on and you'll be with me for the rest of my life. Understand?" tigress replied.

Taken aback, Po was shocked to see Tigress now crying and he was sure it wasn't the onions. He saw that she was only just able to absorb the news of him even being here at this moment, and it all finally came crashing in, filling her with the emotions she contained for seven years. Tears filled her eyes and droplets were crawling down her orange cheeks, cascading its way to the ground. Po turned back and gave her a hug that engulfed her entire being. She tensed at first before melting into the hug she wished she had felt over her years of being without Po. She needed him here, she needed him here forever, with her, always with her. She sobbed for a moment longer before reaching out to his head and kissing him again. She felt this connection with him that was stretched apart but never severed over the time they spent away from each other and she was never going to let go of this again. She's in love with Po...and she wasn't sure he felt the same. But his action said otherwise as he leaned in and kissed her back with that fiery intensity that he showed this morning. He pulled her in, hard, and it was his turn to kiss the daylights out of _her,_ and never before had Tigress felt so vulnerable, so at mercy of someone else that her knees would be jelly and her heart was like a thousand drums beating at once. She felt light, above the clouds and drowning in lukewarm euphoria that was called love. Her tail subconsciously rubbed around Po's leg as they enjoyed each other's company. Their tongues greeted in many different ways than one and each made her heart stop a millisecond before hammering like crazy again. Oh if she could have spent this moment with him the last seven years, she would have sacrificed anything she had. Po pulled her back and whispered something into her ears that made her world stop and lifted the anguish from the depths of her soul. _I love you._ He said. That was it. She couldn't hold on any longer. She tugged at his rugged robe trying to pry it loose but a large warm hand stopped her.

"The rest of the five are coming, not now," Po said.

Still dazed and drunk in her own delight, she struggled to force herself out of his embrace and sat down on the dinner table, more exhausted than whatever training could give her. She smiled, giggled as she watched her panda go back to peacefully making noodles as if their kiss never happened. She didn't feel bad about it, she understood that it was far to soon to express their love to everyone else.

"What took you so long…?" Tigress asked.

Po stopped preparing the ingredients for a minute and replied: "I needed to complete the final trial in a different way master Oogway expected."

"A trial? To become the great sage?" Tigress further questioned. As much of a mystery the great sage is to her, she couldn't help but wonder what type of trial would allow only a great sage to pass. She was curious but not curious enough to pry Po after getting him back. "You know what? Tell me later. I'm just glad you're back."

"Yeah, I got that the moment you kissed me in broad daylight, in front of Shifu even," Po teased and as a result, he was hit by a wooden spoon tigress threw at him.

"You have no Idea about how much I worried about you," Tigress said in frustration whilst clutching her pendant, an action she subconsciously became accustomed to when she was worried." I thought you were dead Po. I-If you were I don't know what I'd be fighting for anymore."

Po watched tigress' anguished expression and smiled back to cheer her up. "At least, I'm alive now right?" Po says a twitch of a smile in the corner of Tigress' mouth as he turned to continue making lunch.

"Mmm, what is that smell?" Said an approaching voice from the outside. It was Monkey.

"That smells delicious!" said another voice, most likely to be Mantis.

The furious five opened the door to the dining hall only to be greeted with a mouth-watering aroma of delicious spices. Their stomachs grumbled in unison including Viper's who hid her face instantly in embarrassment. Never before had they anticipated such luxury of good food up in the jade palace. No chef would ever make their way up here every day just to make their lunch. So to have such delicious smelling food had made them all drool in anticipation.

"Sup guys," Po greeted, "Order up! Hope you like it."

With graceful skill, Po slid the five bowls from his hands on the table until it landed in front of each member of the furious five as they sat down. To everyone's surprise, except Po, Tigress dug in immediately devouring the noodles like it was her last meal on earth. The rest of the five hesitated for a moment longer before starting to have a try themselves. Soon after, they were all devouring their dishes and slurping the noodles to sate their hunger.

"This is really good!" Mantis said as he sipped the soup with his spoon.

"Yep, this is my dad's secret ingredient soup after all," Po replied, "I'd tell you what it is but that wouldn't make it a secret."

"This is amazing," viper continued, "You guard that secret ingredient with your life."

"Will do," Po responded.

"Why wasn't this served when we went down to the valley," Crane asked, "I'm sure the business would boom if they were to sell this."

"Yeah, we were selling it before my dad and I had to leave to complete the sage training," Po answered, "It opened up again since yesterday though after dad returned with me from Gongmen city where he waited for me to complete the last trial."

"The last trial, huh?"Monkey said, " Must've been tough"

Po responded with a sad smile that made Tigress look up from her soup and into him, but the rest of the five were too busy enjoying themselves to pay attention to their silent communication. Tigress gave him a questioning, almost accusing look -not accusing him but her own grandfather of what he had done to Po - but Po gave her a reassuring smile before starting to eat his own fill of noodles.

After the furious five asked for seconds and thirds after they finished bowl after bowl of noodles, they all went back to their training but they found master Shifu and Oogway waiting for them in the dueling grounds. Po had followed them of course as he wanted to see their training personally and not through the vision of the universe. However, Oogway's gaze had allowed him to understand what he had to do. He cannot just walk in here and demand respect as a great sage. Respect must be earned through righteous deeds and strength. The strength he had to show...well part of it at least.

The furious five seemed to understand what is about to happen as well, as they all lined up and gave their bow along with the hand to fist gesture.

"As Master Oogway and I had discussed, we would like to see how far Po had developed the last years through this light spar….now Po who would you like to go against first?" Shifu asked with an accusing sneer.

However Oogway interrupted "Ah, you misunderstand Shifu, we are not doing this to see how far Po has come after all these years, I have already seen it all. We are dueling to see how far you and the furious five has come"

Shifu gave a flabbergasted expression. Making us fight Po was a test of _our_ strength? Not _his?_ "As you wish Master, now who would like to go first?"

"If you'd please," Tigress answered instantly with a bow.

The rest of the furious five were stunned. Starting off with Tigress from the bat? She has never lost before...Oh boy, this Po is going to get a beating, great sage or not.

Tigress approached the center of the training ground and readied her stance. Po gulped the spit he didn't know he was holding in his mouth. He anticipated this match but as much as he cared for his friend, or more now, he will NOT dishonor her by going easy. Thus, he readied his own stance leaving his staff away at the side for he did not need it. As master Shifu stated the word _begin,_ both warriors dashed at each other in blinding speed and exchanged a flurry of blows. Po's hits weren't as strong as Tigress for he did not do "hard style" but to simply engage her in counterattacking so he could analyze her. He flowed, like water absorbing each of her strikes as they almost landed on him. Both wasted no unnecessary movements but Po had seen enough. He had wandered the void for three years and experienced the worst of its horror. As much as Tigress was a warrior, he had faced worse, far far far worse odds than this. As tigress did a palm strike, Po dodged with such grace that he flowed into her momentum, and without warning, his arm wrapped up her arm, locking it in place, and his palm reaching the back of her neck, grabbing her. With blinding speed, he brought her head down to his knees, careful not to hit her too hard and it landed squarely on her forehead...or so he thought. Tigress knew she was facing Po, and she was not unprepared. She expertly twisted her way out of his head hold and did a spinning backflip away to distance herself before he could land the knee and readied herself in a stance again.

The rest of the furious five, along with master Shifu was in shock. They had never seen such a battle between high-level masters and Shifu was even surprised Po could even match Tigress now, whom even he, himself, had trouble to win against. But Po was unfazed as he adjusted his stance as well to face Tigress. They dashed at each other again, and Tigress' incredible amount of training showed as each of her strikes were blindingly fast yet precise and powerful. She was matching Po in terms of speed and exceeding him in strength. However, just a moment later the course of the fighting changed as something switched within Po. He was focused now, and he no longer contained empathy for his greatest friend. As of now, they were opponents and whether it be his own dad or a monster from the void, he will triumph. His techniques flowed into one and another striking Tigress whenever he wanted, however, he wanted with almost all his blows. He avoided Tigress' strikes with ease and the five along with Shifu watched in horror as Tigress, known to be one of the greatest Kung Fu prodigies of all time was being overwhelmed. A moment later Tigress struck with her signature double palm strike, which to Oogway's surprise, along with Po's had caused him to stagger back a few steps...but it was not enough….nowhere near enough. Tigress went for a double palm strike again but this time Po grabbed both her wrist right before it impacted upon him and forcefully spread them apart. He then used Tigress' momentum against her as he did a double vertical fist strike to knock her back, clinched her head and pulled it down to knee her ribs. Tigress, for the first time in seven years, kneeled catching her breath and time stood still for all the observers. Po didn't strike hard enough for her ribs to break but the force behind it knocked everything out of her. She tried to stand back up but her knees failed her and once again became jelly as she collapsed in pain. However, before she fell onto the ground, she was held up by a familiar black and white mass who was sort of hugging her to keep her steady. She sighed in defeat. She knew she was going to lose anyway but she wanted to have done more, to have lasted longer than ten minutes, to have at least showed Po that she could be his equal. She almost sobbed but before it came out she heard.

"That double palm strike really did a number on me, I think you cracked my ribs Ti," Po whispered into her ear. All shame washed out of her after hearing her friend address her in that all too familiar name with his all too familiar voice. She injured him, and as much as she felt guilty about hurting her friend, she was simply glad all her years of training didn't go to waste. She may not be able to stand equal to Po, but she was a close second, and she intended to, at the very least, keep it that way. She hugged him back not caring in the slightest about what the others might think, and she felt she wanted more, she wanted to explore what was underneath his brown robe that covered his upper half. Would it still be soft as before and cuddly, or would it be hard as stone from years of training? She wanted to know. But before she could let out a low purr she was interrupted.

"I see Tigress has grown leaps and bounds," Oogway said, "She has far exceeded my expectations...as expected for the future dragon warrior."

With that, the five -along with Tigress this time - gasped in shock. Shifu was dumbfounded.

Tigress was going to be...the dragon warrior?

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